follow the rules. Doesn’t mean BYU is perfect but as an institution it’s imperative to it that it does things the right way and/or has the image of doing things the right way.

Previous to NIL becoming a thing bigtime athletic programs were at peace that part of competing at the highest level was looking the other way as boosters paid players under the table to come to their school, or in some cases not looking the other way. This gave those schools a huge advantage.

Don’t think that bigtime players just recently started considering who would pay them the most in deciding where they were going to go? Naw, now it’s just in the open, and it’s no longer against the rules.

It’s no coincidence that this openness and new legality to paying players whatever has coincided with BYU’s rise in major athletics results.

Under the guise of “reigning in” the “Wild West” of NIL, and putting a cap at 20ish million total that can be paid out (lot of hoops and difficulties to be approved to pay above that by boosters, so it’s a soft cap) is that this will return things to the bigtime programs will be able to have their recruiting competitive advantage again. BYU will continue to be a rule following institution so we will be outbid again in a new era where the rule following institutions will be fighting with one hand tied behind their back.