Several of these national shows are taking notice of BYU. Many of them are talking directly or indirectly about The Church in their commentary. Some have even talked about how PROvo has become a bucket-list place to visit. I think having sports teams worth talking about might be about the greatest thing the university has to draw attention to itself. Maybe it sounds obvious to everyone else, but I think the sticker shock of paying elite athletes will pay off in two important ways.

1- so many people talk about BYU when BYU is good, and it does cause people to ask honest questions about The Church

2- a deep tourney run, a CFP run will bring much more money to the school then they’ll ever pay in NIL. Someone wrote an article about how Nick Saban’s $9mm contract paid for itself many times over in ancillary ways, not to mention direct ticket sales, and TV revenue.

This money BYU is paying seems like a grand investment to me.