During the broadcast of the Alamo Bowl between the Oklahoma Sooners and Arizona Wildcats, OU legend Brian Bosworth was asked his thoughts on NIL deals.
Bosworth expressed his dislike that a few players on the team could earn the majority of the deals and wanted a more equitable distribution. Then he alleged that “dark money” will be entering the NIL landscape next season. What is he talking about?
“There’s whispers of dark money coming in after the season’s over with,” said Bosworth. “Moms and dads getting phone calls and uncles and aunts getting calls. That’s got to stop. We got to get that under control.”
What Is “Dark Money”?
For those unfamiliar, “dark money” is a term that refers to spending to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse, where the source of the money is not made public. In common vernacular its often used synonymously with “dirty money” which is money derived from criminal and illegal activities.
But what is Bosworth talking about?
In an NIL deal the source of the money must be disclosed. If a player enters into a partnership with a local car dealership, or heating and refrigeration company, those companies are the sources of the money. So it wouldn’t be “dark.” It would be very public. Colleges and universities have offices that track these sorts of things as well.
Is it possible Bosworth meant “dirty money”?
That would be a serious allegation but one that wouldn’t be new in big time college athletics.
Before NIL deals, if boosters supplied athletes with cash there would be no way of knowing exactly where that money was generated from. It’s possible the money could be “dirty.”
Does Bosworth Know What “Dark Money” Is?
Bosworth then went on to talk about moms, dads, aunts and uncles receiving phone calls. This is a tale as old as time.
Agents, boosters, “friends” of a program since time immemorial have reached out to the families of athletes with the hopes that they could influence said athlete to attend a specific school.
Is this the “dark money” he’s referring to?
Money changes hands all the time behind the scenes in a multibillion dollar enterprise like college football. Is it possible that some of that money has been generated through illegal activity? Absolutely.
But the connection to NIL is not clear and Bosworth doesn’t make it clear. He just references “whispers.”
He sounds like someone that is out of touch with the current landscape of NIL deals in college athletics and just wanted to say something provocative. Or just hating because he would have definitely gone to the highest bidder in his heyday.
Mission accomplished.