Same as @FearlessF , I immediately thought of T Boone Pickens when I read this. I think it IS a possibility. Maybe some mega-billionaire is a fan/alum of the University of Wyoming. We *COULD* see the Wyoming Cowboys (I think they are the Cowboys) competing with the blue bloods for talent.
I do have a quibble with this. People do things for money all the time. However, people often don't like being viewed as doing things for money.
If I'm a blue-chip recruit and I know I can get $1.5M in NIL money at Bama, or OSU, or USC, or Texas, that's pretty good. If I'm getting $1.6M to go to Wyoming? I'll be viewed as doing it for the money. Why would I do that? Is that $100K really willing to stake my reputation on? Even if I'm a dumb 18-year-old athlete?
I'm not sure. Wyoming in that scenario is going to have be offering stupid money, like $2.5M or $3M to get that athlete because the minute an athlete goes to Wyoming, everyone KNOWS it's for the money. So the money better be good enough to be worth it.
Not to switch streams here, but we've seen the same thing over the last couple of years in golf. A Saudi-financed upstart league called LIV appeared and tried to attract the PGA Tour's stars with higher prize money and large contracts. We're talking 9 figures for some of the big names. Mid 8 figures for guys who can't reasonably justify that value. They got some players, and those players all had to immediately start tap dancing around the fact that they were doing it for the money with platitudes about how it was "growing the game", or how the new team format was "exciting". But all the fans know it's the money. All the fans know they sold out. Doesn't necessarily mean we blame them for doing it, but we don't believe a WORD of their excuses. It was for the money, and nothing else.
It would be the same thing taking a big NIL check to go to Wyoming. Everyone knows it's about the money, so the money had BETTER be good enough to withstand the criticism you'll get for it.
