Mike Locksley has a unique plan to keep NIL out of the Maryland locker room

Mike Locksley took to the podium at Big Ten Media Days, and one of the primary topics coaches are being asked right now is about NIL. He had a good amount to say about it, but one of the most intriguing things he said was about how he plans to deal with the influence of NIL and wealthy players in the locker room. He said, "You can leave your Louis [Vuitton] belts, your car keys, and your financial statements outside of this locker room."

Mike Locksley is tired of the NIL situation and how it affects his locker room

Locksley went on a fed-up rant about how he lost the locker room last year due to NIL, and he's not going to let that happen again. His frustration didn't come from not being a good coach or not having good players, but because of the comparison trap players had with each other. The culture went to crap because of those who had big money with NIL and those who didn't.

"I lost my locker room... we were better than a 4-win team, but what we had to do is we had we had "haves" and "have nots" for the first time in our locker room... It taught me a valuable lesson, that valuable lesson is important for me, even in the midst of this change, to continue to educate our players on the importance of what playing for something bigger than yourself is all about. And I can tell you, if I've got to put my desk in the locker room this year, I will, and I expect our team to show up play hard."

Mike Locksley, Maryland HC

Locksley found himself questioning his coaching and his ability to make decisions, such as which players to pay. "Do you pay the freshman coming in or the veteran that helped you get to three bowl games?" He decided this year he wasn't going to let it change the locker room. He was going to make sure the players didn't bring that nonsense with them. That's handled outside and won't affect his culture.