Jeff Traylor on NIL divide: Group of Five can’t chase Power 5 dollars

Once again, it's the haves against the have-nots, according to Jeff Traylor
UTSA v Tennessee
UTSA v Tennessee | Eakin Howard/GettyImages

The new house settlement, which produces what many are referring to as a salary cap for colleges, is creating problems for lower-level Division I programs. UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor took the podium at the media days for the American Athletic Conference and spoke openly and candidly about the challenges facing Group of Five programs in the new revenue-sharing landscape.

According to Traylor, G5 coaches and administrators are facing several major issues. Things like not knowing what other teams can afford, whether players and agents are being honest about the other deals they have on the table, how to secure funding, and what it looks like to compete financially in the AAC.

Jeff Traylor says through two months all of his players have been paid

The house settlement has created a bit of a scramble for universities as they work to stay competitive both on the field and off the field. Landing top recruits now requires a greater commitment to financial compensation. It's more public, and agents are using that as leverage.

For the Power 5 programs, they are working to find ways to go beyond the 'salary cap' set by the house settlement of $20.5 million. For the Group of 5 programs, they are trying to find a way even to make a scalable model to get to that number in the next few years, says Traylor.

However, Traylor says that they've accomplished their first goal, which was to ensure their players were paid on time in July and now for August.

"We know the goals we've got to get to. The numbers are kind of mysterious in our league. No one really comes out and says, 'This is where the number is.' That's kind of hard to work off of, but we want to be competitive...You've got to be somewhere in the ballpark financially to be able to get these players. Rev. share is a real thing. All of our players were paid on time, on July 1. I just got an email that all their checks are ready to go for August 1. "
Jeff Traylor

The revenue-sharing program and NIL chaos affect coaches and schools all over. For G5, it's far different from P5 programs, and coaches are navigating this new future. While the clarity is gradually approaching a more manageable arrangement, it also continues to become more complicated as more legal battles are waged.