“And they lived happily ever after”. That’s how every fairytale ends. Sans any margin for nuance or negativity. This suggests prosperity is both linear and perpetual, which is perhaps only true in make-believe kids’ stories. In the real world, prosperity comes in short, maybe even one-off bursts. Sustaining prosperity and success over a long period requires very favorable circumstances. Things going your way. Indiana HC Curt Cignetti seeks to repeat his team’s Cinderella run to the playoffs last season. Sustain their success, rather than becoming a one-off flash in the pan. But the circumstances around him aren’t very favorable. Even more so after a recent revelation around Steve Sarkisian’s Texas.
The Indiana Hoosiers have been a perennial afterthought in the Big 10. An ancillary to their ‘bigger’ contemporaries in the conference, drifting along in the abyss of mediocrity. You’d have thought IU’s status in the B1G will become even more pronounced after the likes of Oregon and USC realigned to the conference. But new head coach Curt Cignetti had other plans. A revamped roster courtesy of the transfer portal and his offensive enterprise combined to make Indiana a force. Conceded, they crashed and burned once they got to the CFP. But getting there is a testament to Coach Cignetti’s prowess. Naturally, he has no intentions of things reverting to how they were before he arrived in Bloomington. But the dynamics around him are shifting, pertaining to NIL and recruitment. So Cignetti has opted to lean into the dark arts- if you can’t reach their level, pull them down to yours.
The Houston Chronicle recently reported that Steve Sarkisian-led Texas is planning to spend $40 million on their 2025 roster. That’s double the cost of the alleged most expensive roster in the history of College Football, Ohio State last year. What’s made this a possibility is UT’s NIL arsenal, in tandem with the introduction of revenue sharing. Texas’ athletics dept. reportedly rakes in the most revenue in the country, a whopping $331.9 million. But the House Settlement isn’t yet officialized. Meaning rev-share and, by extension spending caps, are in a state of flux. Essentially anything goes right now, and the repercussions and reprimands aren’t in place yet. So while Texas and other schools exploit their purses, Curt Cignetti is calling them out publicly. And one College Football analyst has caught wind of his intentions.
Adam Breneman took to IG in the aftermath of Curt Cignetti taking shots at schools potentially exploiting the loopholes involved with the uncertainty around revenue sharing. “Curt Cignetti is snitching on teams in college football,” said Breneman, tongue in cheek. “He’s calling out teams that have $40 million rosters,” he added. The teams Cignetti allegedly called out are the aforementioned Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, Notre Dame, Miami and Texas Tech. Instinctively, you’d think Texas Tech sticks out like a sore thumb within that group. But the Red Raiders have been the most active school in this transfer portal window, and Breneman reasoned how. “Texas Tech is using its oil money down there in the south. One NIL agent said, quote, ‘They are insane. They’re just going for it before the rules change.” Breneman also quoted what Coach Cignetti said to spur on this discourse.
Curt Cignetti, per Adam Breneman, said, “It’s kind of scary for everybody else that the six [schools] out there have unlimited NIL resources where everybody else is waiting on this rev share.” Make no mistake, Indiana’s NIL kitty isn’t half bad either. Their donors and boosters have been sprung into action since Cignetti’s hire, and now have even more reason to back him after leading them to the inaugural 12-team playoffs. But even though IU strikes while the iron is hot, the competition is doing the exact same. Breneman proceeded to delve further into this affair.
Steve Sarkisian mobilizing funds invites scrutiny from within the SEC, too, not just Curt Cignetti
Adam Breneman relayed a quote from South Carolina’s general manager, too. “People are trying to offload money now, but this will be the last cycle where guys are getting big paychecks because of rev share,” he said. That sounds contradictory, since revenue share is poised to increase spending power and not decrease it. Almost paradoxical. But that’s the catch- it’ll not merely increase spending power, but make it more streamlined and verifiable. Teams wouldn’t be able to exploit the fractured legislature of the NCAA anymore. Where the punishment is never reciprocal to the crime. Curt Cignetti just wants parity, a level playing field. The House Settlement, in theory, promises that.
“Once the settlement passes, third-party NIL deals are subject to oversight. Meaning that big spending could face serious regulations. A Deloitte-administered NIL clearing house will ensure that any deal worth $600 or more is assessed for fair market value. That means the big spending spree we’re seeing right now could be a thing of the past pretty soon,” added Adam Breneman. That explains things rather clearly. Deloittle is being incorporated to keep track of players’ NIL evaluations. Making sure there are no discrepancies in what’s being paid vs what’s deserved. The problem just exists in this window of uncertainty where the House Settlement and its bylaws haven’t kicked in, but schools are also aware that they will. Meaning they’ve got a bit of a free rein at this juncture. You can’t get punished for things that weren’t punishable at the time, eh?
Curt Cignetti and Indiana are up against it anyway, even without being handicapped in terms of spending. But this just fans the flames of their potential downturn from their highs in 2024. Alas, his words haven’t fallen on deaf ears. But it’s unlikely they cause much of an impact. There’s not much in place to stop the likes of Texas from pouring more money onto their already stacked rosters. Which has been hinted at by other analysts in the media realm, too. Cignetti will just have to do things the hard way, take the scenic route. But hey, he’s done it once already. The strength of schedule may have been weak, but what he achieved with the Hoosiers was powerful. Maybe lightning does strike twice.
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