It appears that the reality of big money

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LSU really can’t compete in this space with extremely wealthy schools

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How is the recruiting class so good then

LSU is an attractive place thru many different avenues. A singular loss is not concerning but when you lose 3 in a row that likely is going to change the perspective of sone teenagers, especially one from way outside the region

What’s really concerning is that Underwood is basically resetting the market for a QB at the college level by taking the Michigan gig. EVERY top tier QB out of high school is going to be looking for $2-3M a season from here on out. There’s about to be a massive swing away from HS QBs to proven portal guys, imo. And honestly, for a school like LSU, you’re better off going portal hunting for a QB and dumping your NIL money into skill players.

The fact of the matter is, a multi-billionaire like Phil Knight or The oracle guy could easily buy the top recruits at every position for the foreseeable future.

They could easily create an NIL trust that once it is funded ends up funding itself for the rest of time. They could then buy what they need every year.

This is a problem.

I’m all for capitalism but in the world of sports there has to be some parity.

It’s going to get old watching Texas/Oregon/Michigan buy their way to the final every year.

It's not a matter of being unable to compete. Of course we can't compete with some other programs if we are talking pure wealth. That's not what the Underwood situation really was about. It was really about market value. We can compete as long as the values stay within the parameters of market value. See our class. Hard to say we can't compete when we consistently have top 10 classes, even top 5, in the NIL era. The issue is that there will always be someone out there willing to "overpay" the market. Michigan went beyond the market by a great deal. It's an outlier.

If it were purely about total wealth, Texas, TAM and even the Ivy League schools would dominate the landscape. They don't. Curves generally eliminate the highest and lowest score to determine the median. The reason, outliers. You don't judge the masses by the actions of the individual. Texas had every opportunity to match or better the amount Oregon is paying DK Moore. They chose not to, not because they couldn't, but because they didn't want to reset the market. Same applies in the Underwood situation in my opinion. Michigan reset the market, we chose not to.
GA Tech reset the market for an OT with the million they are gonna give Petty. Other schools have to adjust to that as other kids now know what he's getting. Same will apply to the Underwood deal. Most schools will choose not to ante up at that level. Considering the tremendous amount of negatives far outweighing the positives, they will choose so wisely.

Our gripe with LSU in the Underwood situation shouldn't be, and likely isn't, about us choosing not to give 3 million per, with the player holding all power in renegotiations yearly, to Underwood but instead with the incessant talk that we'd match any offer made. They lied plain and simple. That doesn't imply they made the wrong decision.

The biggest gripe overall is the lack of any semblance of trust being put into anything any of these kids or their parents say or any thing an insider reports. It's a tough to accept that the entire charade is a con job by all involved and that we continue to fall for it even knowing that. Underwood is to LSU fans what covid was to most Americans, the wakeup call. Anyone that chooses to continue being bamboozled deserves the angst they will inevitably have in the end.

Just my opinion

Why do people keep saying LSU doesn’t have the money. We have LARGE boosters. Boosters after the Kentucky blowout a few years back were at the team hotel writing blank checks to get O out. Money is not an issue for us. It’s what we decide to do with that money that’s the issue

I think going forward LSU will backload a contract.

No need to just will 10mm to a guy. They need to earn the incentives just like we all do.

It’s a matter of figuring out how to be most efficient with the money. I know BK is getting a ton of shite, but from a business perspective I understand him not wanting to overpay for an average DT, or pay a megaton for an unproven QB.

The NFL got to that point with rookie QBs. The market forced teams to pay a ton to 1st round QBs. Many times the teams didn’t get a ROI and it cratered their salary cap for years.

QB is the most important position. But you still have to have good players elsewhere. I have no doubt LSU set a very reasonable number for the top QB prospect…with the understanding they still have to pay other players and didn’t want to let one guy inflate the entire market for the team. A desperate Michigan paid more for a hometown kid. One that will get a lot of front end money with literally nothing to tie him to the school beyond 1 season (if that). The data is becoming clear that you can win at a high level with a proven, experienced transfer QB if you have the team around him. Maybe the better approach for LSU will be to reserve funds for a proven commodity at some positions and not blow it all on more fickle/unproven HS recruits

The big buyouts for coaches really need to stop.