On3 Reports Tough Talks Between Teams and Incoming Seniors

A recent article from On3's Pete Nakos dove into the recent discussions that collegiate general managers are preparing to have with their incoming 2027 commits over lackluster senior film. The issues stem from how general managers previously evaluated their incoming commits against how they have been producing during their senior campaigns. This steep drop-off, in many cases, has led to highly sought-after or assured commits seeing their revenue-sharing deals slashed or their offers revoked outright.

General Manager's Perspective

In the On3 article, discussions with anonymous SEC GMs showed the growing gap between the money discussed during campus visits and the money that can actually be offered "sensibly". The point of view from the GMs seems to be rooted in the idea that they cannot burn too much money on incoming recruits for fear of missing out on more "sure-fire" options in the transfer portal.

These GMs are caught in a bind because of this mentality, as many of them feel as if they are cheating the athlete out of money that had been previously promised. The article goes on to examine how reputable agents could then leverage that doubling back to create relationships with other schools trying to build their own 2027 classes.

However, the GMs believe that this strategy is warranted. Many high school seniors have experienced drop-offs in their performance due to a multitude of conditions. Injuries, playing time, or attitudes change the way many athletes perform, and GMs believe that this inconsistent performance is enough to justify dropping costs on incoming talent.

Athlete's Perspective

There is a flip side to GMs wanting to cut costs for incoming commits. The athletes find themselves in an equal bind of staying committed for less pay or risking a flip to find opportunities and pay elsewhere. Agents are working to create healthy relationships with other schools, but it is a great risk attempting to work in secret given the broad sweep of colleges lowering costs.

Many other athletes are experiencing the inverse effect of this. With other recruits seeing their price tags drop due to lackluster senior performances, there are just as many seeing their stock and opportunities rise because of their senior strides. Critical performances during the 2026 season has seen late-bloomers take some of the spotlight as "underrated talent" that schools figure they can get for cheap. In their situations, these last-minute bloomers are now reaping the rewards for hard work and the chances provided to them.