Oklahoma State introduces creative way to attract NIL donations

The shameless cash grab in sports started with advertisements on the uniforms. It is continuing with QR codes on helmets.

The Oklahoma State football team announced on Tuesday that it is going to feature QR codes on the back of its helmets this season that will direct fans to a website where they can directly donate to the team's NIL fund.

The sticker will appear on the back of the helmets and will be just 1.5 square inches. While that might seem incredibly small and almost impossible for anybody to scan inside of the stadium, the team is counting on the close-up shots that happen on TV broadcasts to give fans the opportunity to donate.

This is just the latest advancement in college football's NIL era.

"This is a revolutionary step forward to help keep Oklahoma State football ahead of the game," said head coach Mike Gundy . "It gives a chance for everyday fans across the world to have a real impact when it comes to supporting the NIL efforts for Cowboy football. I'm thrilled about this opportunity for our players."

The timing of this announcement, as well as Gundy's quote in the official statement introducing it, is nothing short of comical given how, just 24 hours earlier, Gundy was quoted in an ESPN article talking about how the team could now just focus on football and not have to worry about asking for money.

"The good news is, the next five months we can just play football," Gundy said last week, per ESPN. "There's no negotiating now. The portal's over. All the negotiation's history. Now we're playing football. "The business side of what we do now -- we have to have those conversations with [the players]. 'Tell your agent to quit calling us and asking for more money. It's non-negotiable now. It'll start again in December. So now we're able to direct ourselves just in football, and that part is fun."

Well, the agents can stop calling and asking for money. Now the helmet will be the one doing the asking.