NCAA Wrestling 2026

During a beer break in State College I was trying to get educated on EXACTLY what is NIL and how it impacts the Athlete. Being a Penn State fan....RBY was one of the "first" examples I could see. Endorsement deals. He was sponsored by a chicken wing place like Wing Stop. Had a short commercial or two for them.

Is there a Down and Dirty explanation someone could give?

In addition, isn't there a "new" subsection this year '25-'26 where gate/ticket proceeds are split among the athletes?

So do Levi, Mitch and Josh.....do they get ACTUAL green money?
 
Starocci would be another decent example. To come back for a 5th year. Did an Alumi or group rally (reportedly) MILLIONS to have him come back? Again....GREEN money into his accout?

It's no longer "incentives or trades" ie- wasn't it always popular prior to NIL for a star football player to get free, leased vehicles, gifts, etc that was shady but common?
 
LostArra said:
Just to add, the elite high school seniors and college guys are wrestling now internationally during the school's "off season". They need to manage their match count both physically and mentally.

Also, if you have top shelf talent as a backup you better give him some matches or
A) he will be gone to another school
B) your starter gets an injury and you have to use an untested reserve

I don't believe Penn St "outworks" anyone. They start with the very best recruiting class every year then add great individual coaching especially directed at specific opponents. (Duke v Taylor) That's a formidable combination. Occasionally they miss (Braeden Davis) and also can still win with passivity (Rocco).

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Edit: Penn St didn't really "miss" on Davis. He's a good wrestler that has some control issues that get him in trouble both on and off the mat.
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Yeah I know how injuries and wrestling go hand in hand so def good points and I agree.
The sad part about it is how some and not all of these athletes are getting paid good money now but then their doing less, medically forefeiting, skipping matches, etc.
I guess I just am a little old school. I think about Mark Schwab freshman year at UNI being an All American with a 49-9 record. Now that would be something to be proud of.
 
Jesse Jaymes said:
It's no longer "incentives or trades" ie- wasn't it always popular prior to NIL for a star football player to get free, leased vehicles, gifts, etc that was shady but common?
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If the athlete was receiving anything at all because of their status as an athlete prior to NIL it wasn’t shady it was a violation. But some schools definitely pulled strings for their star players!
My school had a billionaire donor I worked for in the summers. He couldn’t pay me any more than what would be considered normal pay for my labor. He wasn’t even allowed to buy me lunch when he would take me out to eat. Of course he did but we understood not to speak of it.
My teammate had some sort of invention he was trying to get funding to start a business with it. He took to some kind of start-up website that relied on random people to help fund products they thought were good. Compliance director found out about it & shut it down quick due to it being some sort of BS compliance violation.
 
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Okie-hunter said:
@longtail the forfeiting of bouts to avoid wrestling other tough guys is something I’m definitely not a fan of either.
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Not sure if you follow pa high school wrestling, but we had a ducking situation in the state duals that ended up with the ducker getting pinned in the state individual championships. That was pretty sweet to see.

@Jesse Jaymes NIL means they get as much real, green money and whatever else they can bargain for. And there's no salary cap, and with the transfer portal there's basically no long term contracts. Indiana bought their college football national championship and is looking to do it again. Some of the players are choosing to stay in college because they make more money there than on a high round NFL draft pick salary.
 
Jesse Jaymes said:
Starocci would be another decent example. To come back for a 5th year. Did an Alumi or group rally (reportedly) MILLIONS to have him come back? Again....GREEN money into his accout?

It's no longer "incentives or trades" ie- wasn't it always popular prior to NIL for a star football player to get free, leased vehicles, gifts, etc that was shady but common?
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I wonder if the NIL figures bounced around are exaggerated for non-revenue sports. I'm sure the football and basketball stars are cashing in
 
ResearchinStuff said:
@Jesse Jaymes NIL means they get as much real, green money and whatever else they can bargain for. And there's no salary cap, and with the transfer portal there's basically no long term contracts. Indiana bought their college football national championship and is looking to do it again. Some of the players are choosing to stay in college because they make more money there than on a high round NFL draft pick salary.
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I wouldn't cast shade at Indiana. The country is just finally catching up with the SEC
 
ResearchinStuff said:
@Jesse Jaymes NIL means they get as much real, green money and whatever else they can bargain for. And there's no salary cap, and with the transfer portal there's basically no long term contracts. Indiana bought their college football national championship and is looking to do it again. Some of the players are choosing to stay in college because they make more money there than on a high round NFL draft pick salary.
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Stay in college...... but are they even going to class or getting a degree?? or wait a minute, what about the recent FB player that was already graduated but still playing --- thats like being 20 years old and still wrestling in HS
WELCOME TO THE WILD WILD WEST of College athletics.
 
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