Gonna have to pay him what he wants. Different situation from Young last year as we had 2 other guys returning who had better numbers. There is no proven production besides Horton this year.
I don't agree with that.
Like any GM in pro sports, you decide his value and stick to it. If you live by the logic of paying him whatever he wants, well above value, it could cause a rift in the locker room bc kids nowadays can't keep their mouths shut. It's similar to the situation we heard at Louisville with Baron and why he was supposedly kicked off the team. It could lead to every kid trying it every offseason or jealousy amongst the kids instead of team/positional unity. As a coach these days, you have to be equal parts CEO, X's and O's expert, and psychologist.
If a player is a clear cut stud, program changer/program carrier, face of the program, etc....yeah, you do what you can to keep him, within reason. For those guys, an overpay wouldn't seem out of the question. But a guy like Horton, similar to Young, is likely a different approach....value, expected ROI, % of the total NIL pot.
My issue with the portal and NIL in general is the lack of real-world applicable guidelines. It's being treated like a minor league system but it's not. Minor league systems are intended to develop kids. It's tough for kids to develop bc many aren't staying somewhere long enough to do so. How do you properly develop with 3 different weight rooms, coaching staffs, schemes and nutritional programs in 3-5 years? Yeah the kids at lower levels performing have a chance to further develop at bigger schools and maybe some bigger school kids get a chance at in-game reps sooner (or one last chance as a senior after not getting reps elsewhere) but you have to acknowledge the downfalls and negative impacts on many of these kids, not just the positive of the top percent making big money. There's no rules/limits on pay, but there is on practice/coaching time. As a result, i expect play to suffer. I expect some coaches to pull back and possibly not put as much time into each kid as players, or individuals off-field, as maybe they have in years past due to an anticipation or fear of them bolting. I can see them focusing strictly on starters, higher paid recruits, and winning the games right now.....nothing more.
With most paid leagues, there's contracts of some sort, so you know who will be there next year and who may not and you can plan for it. These coaches/schools can't plan for anything, other than chaos. It doesn't take much for kids to see thin position rooms, leverage it against schools, leave....and then that school not having enough time or bodies to fill replace that group and ultimately, not having enough players to compete, especially with longer seasons and more injuries these days. And likewise, players on current rosters have no idea how many kids might be coming bc the roster limit was pushed up and....so i can definitely see kids filing paperwork to protect themselves even if they didn't plan on leaving coming into portal season.
