College football changed fast as money took control through NIL deals and the transfer portal. That became very evident in Indiana’s championship campaign last year. Something that Ryan Day’s Ohio State already did in 2024 by spending nearly $20 million to build a powerful team. That gamble brought them a national championship. But that success didn’t last long; in 2025, the Bucks couldn’t maintain the same level of success.

That’s because the House vs. NCAA settlement, which was launched in July 2025, changed everything. Under this, schools must share $20.5 million with players across different sports. Teams can’t pay players more to get them in, and any deal above $600 must be approved by NIL GO. That’s when Ohio State AD Ross Bjork thought of a safer approach.

The Buckeyes chose to control all NIL money through the university rather than allow outside booster groups to pay players directly through their Buckeye Sports Group. The school believes this system is safer, more organized, and less likely to violate the new NCAA rules on roster limits and scholarships that will take effect on August 1.

“The philosophy on NIL is: Embrace it at the highest level,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said on Front Office Sports Today. “Be as aggressive as you can be, given your environment.”

The new system created more confusion than clarity for all programs. This made them rush to figure out how to save their NIL collectives, and to do so, teams shattered their cash flow.

Some schools shut these groups down completely, while others tried to move them inside athletic departments to stay legal. Many programs also hurried to complete large NIL payments before NIL Go began reviewing deals, a practice called “front-loading.” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork understood the situation better than most because he helped create the House settlement rules through a special committee.

That’s the reason why Ohio State responded quickly to the new NIL rules by creating Buckeye Sports Group, a system that brought together its two biggest NIL collectives, THE Foundation and The 1870 Society. The new group handled player contracts, donations, subscriptions, and marketing work all in one place. All this chaos affected the Buckeyes last season despite a No. 5 recruiting class.

They lost various NIL battles against other programs that were ready to invest a huge amount. One of their hard misses was OL David Sanders Jr., who chose Tennessee over Ohio State. This scenario shows that the more you spend, the fewer recruits you miss. NIL came in to protect players’ rights and give them stability, but they ended up misusing them, and now coaches and teams are struggling.

So, one thing is pretty clear: this new approach was raising more concerns than giving solutions. Then came Ohio State’s worst nightmare: their fall in the 2025 season. The team managed an easy regular season schedule but fell short of expectations against top teams like Indiana and Miami. Now, if we talk about NIL expenditures, both teams did a decent job.

Miami used the transfer portal aggressively and brought quarterback Carson Beck from Georgia with a $4 million deal. Then there’s Indiana, which got Fernando Mendoza from Cal, who was estimated at around $1.6 million. Both teams reached the championship finals, and Mendoza led Indiana to its first-ever national championship.

Now, more than their 2025 class, this new approach is making things worse for their 2026 class.

Ohio State’s NIL approach is affecting their 2026 class

The chaos started in August itself. J Book, a Bucknuts.com contributor, predicted in 2025 on X, saying, “Long way to go until December for recruiting. Ohio State’s recruiting class is on the brink of falling out of the top 10 for the first time since Ryan Day took over for Urban Meyer in 2019.”

That didn’t happen; the team had the No. 3 recruiting class, but at what cost? They lost several key players in recruiting. One such example is offensive tackle Felix Ojo, who chose Texas Tech above Ohio State because of the high-paying NIL, as they offered him a $5.1 million deal for three years. The same happened with running back Derrek Cooper, who chose Texas over the Bucks.

Ohio State also failed to land Savion Hiter, the top running back in the class, even though the Buckeyes were one of his final four choices before he picked Michigan. The recruiting problems persisted when Bralan Womack, the No. 1 safety in the country, committed to Auburn rather than Ohio State. Soon after, Darius Gray, the nation’s best interior offensive lineman, also rejected the Buckeyes and chose South Carolina.

So it was NIL that made recruits choose other programs. The same was true of their portal class; more than 30 players entered the portal after the 2025 season, making things worse for Ryan Day and the team. So, this new approach is costing Ohio State extra money that could have helped it sign top recruits.

And until proper guidelines come in, there is a “gray area” in NIL rules that Ryan Day already warned all about during Big Ten Media Days.

“We all understand how the revenue share is working,” Day said. “I think what we’re all looking for clarity on is how the third-party NIL deals will be enforced going forward. I don’t know,” Day said. “I’m excited to find out what the rules are so I can play by them, and whether they’ll be enforced. The gray is what drives me insane.”

Because clearly no one really knows what’s happening with NIL rules and what’s right and wrong until August 1st. But the fear ruined two classes for the team.

Despite those setbacks, Ohio State is still among the top 10 NIL spenders, according to College Front Office. The problem is not the team’s unwillingness to spend, but the lack of proper planning and execution when it comes to NIL collectives.

Look, it’s not like Ohio State didn’t have any NIL success before Buckeye Sports Group. Their players have already completed more than 500 NIL deals with major companies like Beats by Dre, Chipotle, RiteRug, Weber Grills, and Element Electronics. Now, their Buckeye Sports Group is aiming to bring in more success to the players.

But the real question is, is this safer approach going to help them in the long run? Why is there so much fear even when the official verdict is yet to come?

The problem is that, before the NIL era, schools relied heavily on booster collectives. These were groups of rich donors who raised money to pay athletes through NIL deals. But after the House settlement, many big schools, like Ohio State, Texas, and Georgia, decided to create more organized NIL systems within their athletic departments; to do so, they partnered with Learfield.

But even then, players still chase huge NIL deals, and that affected the schools that moved away from booster collectives. And when it comes to players’ desire, there’s no limit to it. They want high-paying deals; otherwise, teams end up losing top players in the portal or recruiting.

“There’s no barrier to entry when it comes to NIL,” Learfield EVP of NIL growth and development Solly Fulp tells FOS. “And there’s a lot of new people coming into our space that are prioritizing the transaction over what is truly in the best interest of the student-athlete.”

Until the new set of guidelines comes in, teams are working hard to ensure they get the best players out there. Just take Miami’s example: they spent $2 million to bring high school recruit Jackson Cantwell to the team. So, even with the fear that rules will change and teams could get into trouble for it in the future, teams are making sure they spend as much as they can.