Penn State Football: Time for Fans to “Put Up or Shut Up”

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 03: James Franklin, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, holds the Big Ten Championship Trophy after Penn State beat the Wisconsin Badgers 38-31 at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 03: James Franklin, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, holds the Big Ten Championship Trophy after Penn State beat the Wisconsin Badgers 38-31 at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /
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The new age of college football is upon us. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) is here, giving fans more power than ever.

Name, image, and likeness (NIL) has taken over college football discussions. Every day there are announcements that a high-profile college athlete has signed an NIL deal.

As I am writing this, Ohio State starting quarterback CJ Stroud announced that he has signed a deal that has netted him a Bently worth $150k.

NIL has also become a major reason for players to enter the transfer portal. It essentially makes them free agents available to the highest bidder. The University of Pittsburgh just lost their star receiver Jordan Addison, in main part due to the NIL opportunities that USC can offer.

One coach that has put a figure out there for how much it costs to field a top-tier team is Ohio State coach Ryan Day. Day recently held a meeting in the Columbus community where he revealed that it would take $13 million to keep his roster intact.

Think about that, $13 million. Seems like a substantial number, right? Let’s dig a little deeper.

Penn State Football has over 430,000 followers on Twitter. Now let’s say 200,000 of those followers love Penn State Football enough to make a monetary contribution to a NIL Collective. That would only be $65 a year per person.

STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 18: A general view of fireworks as the Penn State Nittany Lions take the field before the whiteout game against the Auburn Tigers at Beaver Stadium on September 18, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 18: A general view of fireworks as the Penn State Nittany Lions take the field before the whiteout game against the Auburn Tigers at Beaver Stadium on September 18, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Success With Honor allows you to make a one-time donation or sign up for a monthly subscription, starting at $10 a month. That means 108,000 people (roughly a white out crowd) could fund a top-tier college football program.

It’s time for Penn State Football fans to put their money where their mouth is. For this program to be successful now and in the future, it’s going to take more than James Franklin’s recruiting prowess. It’s going to take the involvement of the fanbase and community to get Penn State Football where we all want to see it.