NIL Edge
Ben Portnoy on NIL, Revenue Sharing and the Future of Athlete Pay
FOX Sports college sports writer Ben Portnoy joins Sterling Randle to discuss how athlete pay is changing roster spending, coaching buyouts and the financial decisions facing college athletics.
Presented in partnership with HPL Digital Sport ↗
Fire the coach or spend more on the roster? In the athlete pay era, that decision may look different than it did just a few years ago.
Rising roster costs are adding a new consideration to conversations about coaching changes. Schools must weigh what they are willing to spend on a buyout alongside the resources needed to attract and retain athletes.
In this episode of NIL Edge, host Sterling Randle sits down with Ben Portnoy, a college sports writer for FOX Sports. Drawing on his experience covering SEC programs and writing for Sports Business Journal, Portnoy discusses fan understanding of NIL, the staff time devoted to deal review and the financial pressures shaping college athletics.
What This Episode Covers
✓ What fans understand about NIL and athlete compensation
✓ Why NIL deal review takes up so much staff time
✓ How rising roster costs could affect coaching buyout decisions
✓ Balancing spending on coaches with spending on athletes
✓ The Protect College Sports Act and the policy debate
✓ The role athletes should have in shaping college sports policy
✓ How declining university enrollment could affect athletics budgets
✓ Lessons from covering SEC programs and the business of college sports
Ben Portnoy
College Sports Writer, FOX Sports
Ben Portnoy is a college sports writer for FOX Sports whose experience includes covering SEC programs and writing for Sports Business Journal. He joins NIL Edge to discuss how athlete compensation is changing the business of college sports, from roster budgets and coaching buyouts to NIL deal review, policy debates and the pressures facing university finances.
Athlete pay adds another layer to the financial decisions facing college athletic departments. Portnoy explores how rising roster costs could change the calculation around firing a coach and paying a buyout, particularly when those resources could instead support the roster.
The conversation also examines what fans understand about NIL and why reviewing deals requires so much staff time. Portnoy and Randle discuss the Protect College Sports Act and the role athletes should have in shaping the policies that affect them.
Beyond athletics, university finances may influence how much money schools have available for sports. The episode considers what could happen to athletics budgets if institutions facing declining enrollment have less money to spend.
NIL Edge
Hosted in partnership with Digital Sport by Hot Paper Lantern and NILNewsstand, NIL Edge features interviews with athletic directors, NIL directors, general managers, agents, brands, and companies shaping the future of college sports.
The series is hosted by Sterling Randle. Topics include NIL strategy, revenue sharing, athlete marketing, college sports business models, technology, collectives, and the future of college athletics. Subscribe for more conversations about the business of NIL.
