1) For the NIL, I understand that essentially the “boosters” (whether individual or businesses) can pay whatever NIL they want. That said, the current realignment is being driven by TV money and other money going directly to the conference and paid into the individual University athletic departments. Can the athletic departments themselves (Virginia Tech) offer NIL as part of recruiting? – mjfhokie

Chris Coleman: No, athletic departments can not put money into NIL funds. Money has to come from the outside. Either a business hires a player directly or regular fans donate to an NIL collective (such as Commonwealth NIL). The athletic department, such as Virginia Tech, can help the players and point them in the right direction, but they can’t be involved in the actual deals, and certainly no athletic department funds can be used.

Those are the basics. Beyond that, there are a variety of state laws across the country that impact NIL and govern what schools are actually able to do to a certain extent. I’m the wrong guy to ask about that. It’s so big that I can’t really grasp it. I suppose I could grasp it, but then I’d have to dedicate most of my time to reading the laws, which in turn would mean that I’d have to stop talking about things like Virginia Tech sports for awhile. I’m a heck of a lot better at talking about sports than I am talking about lawyer stuff, so I’ll just stick to what I’m good at.

For those of you who can actually understand this stuff, click here for a good link. Things are different in every state. For example, here’s a description of what Pennsylvania has done…

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