When it comes to college football, recruiting, the transfer portal, and NIL, there’s a new dominating headline every week.

The recent noise has surrounded top five-star offensive tackle recruit Jackson Cantwell, whose recent commitment to the Miami Hurricanes has sparked a massive debate surrounding name, image, and likeness.

Reportedly, Cantwell received a $2 million NIL deal to join the Hurricanes over the Georgia Bulldogs. Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart later came out and criticized high schoolers receiving more than a senior.

Cantwell’s NIL deal also led to many college football personnel wondering, what’s the right NIL price per position on a roster?

How Should Rosters Be Built in the Rev-Sharing Era With NIL?

Following Cantwell’s commitment, Chris Hummer of 247Sports (subscription required) surveyed Power Four personnel and coaching staff.

He sought their opinions on spending 10% of a team’s salary cap on an offensive tackle yet to take a single college snap.

NIL has been unrestrained and unregulated, with teams spending millions on obtaining star talent in the transfer portal — Miami being a notable one with Carson Beck’s multimillion-dollar NIL deal.

That’s expected to change with the approval of the House settlement, under which schools will be held to a cap on revenue-sharing spending, which is expected to be $14 to $16 million for most Power Four schools in football.

Many in the sport view Cantwell’s valuation as untenable, not only due to the lack of proven talent in a high school tackle, but also due to how much of the salary cap his $2 million price tag amounts to.

That’s the context in which many are looking at Cantwell’s massive price tag and wondering how an unproven high school tackle could be worth it.

Schools can no longer expect to spend unlimited resources and must adopt a much more thoughtful approach to building their rosters in the revenue-sharing era.

One SEC director of scouting did highlight offensive tackle as a position to pay a premium for, alongside quarterback, edge rusher, and cornerback.

Others had a short list of wide receivers and defensive tackles but believed that all of that is scheme-dependent outside of quarterback.

Intriguingly, one Big 12 general manager posed a rebuttal to Cantwell’s price tag, preferring to instead sign three high school offensive tackles to $100,000 deals each.

That’s an interesting strategy to consider, as high school recruits just might not work out. College athletes who transfer might not translate to a new program.

But one of three might hit on a serviceable level.

That perspective was in line with several others surveyed, who argued that depth across positions is much more valuable than paying premiums for stars and leaving holes in the roster.

“I don’t find that to be the most effective way to build a roster long term,” the SEC director of scouting said. “But in reality, yes, some teams are going to spend that on a premium position or two each class because either they badly need the position in the short term or maybe they just don’t want to play against them for three-plus years.”

Now, if Cantwell hits, some may walk back that criticism.

Arguably, there’s an important strategy in spending top dollar on the position that protects a quarterback’s blind side.

Many in the sport might not have agreed with Beck’s price tag, nor Cantwell’s, but if the former is paid, then a team must address the latter role at offensive tackle with sufficient resources for that player under center to compete.

“There’s a lot of guys out there right now, and everyone’s fighting for the same job,” Ewers said. “But you’ve got to earn the job and earn the trust of those guys as well.”

When Quinn Ewers slipped on a Miami Dolphins jersey for the first time, the seventh-round rookie quarterback left the disappointment of draft weekend behind and focused on the opportunity ahead. “I didn’t expect to fall as low as I did, but it is what it is at the end of the day, and I have the same opportunity as everybody else does, and I’m beyond thankful for that,” Ewers said as the Dolphins opened rookie minicamp.

Quinn Ewers’ college journey is over as he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins last month. Ewers had an eventful path throughout the past few years after being the #1 overall recruit in the 2021 recruiting class. He originally committed to Ohio State, and he spent one season with the Buckeyes before transferring to Texas. He was one of the biggest names in college football, and that meant big NIL paychecks.

By the time Quinn Ewers’ college career came to a close, he held a $4.5 million NIL valuation. It’s safe to say that aspest of Ewers’ college days was a success.

“The way that it’s kind of been set up for me has been nothing short of unconventional, I think I would say,” Ewers said, according to an article from On3. “Skipping my senior year to enroll at Ohio State early, and then be there for not even a whole calendar year and then decide to go back to my home state of Texas and really, turn around a program that hadn’t really won anything in years, consistently. For me, I go in and lose one game on the road my entire career, go 11-1 on the road. Win a Big 12 title game, go to the College Football Playoff two years in a row and win a Peach Bowl, win multiple Playoff games. It’s nothing short of special.”

Ewers popularity and NIL valuation would make some people think that he was a first-round draft pick. When he started his college career, he was expected to be. Instead, Ewers went in the seventh round, but he isn’t complaining at all.

“I do not take it for granted at all because I know a lot of people would love to be in the shoes that I’m in,” he said. “I guess that’s kind of a ‘why’ for me. Why I do these things. I know the draft didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but at the end of the day, I have the same opportunity everybody else does. What better place to start the journey than in Miami and playing under a really, really good offensive mind in Coach McDaniel?”

When NIL opportunities started to show up, Quinn Ewers immediately took advantage. He signed his first deal with Panini, and he was off and running.

“I feel like I signed about as early as I could,” Ewers said. “I’ve always been with Panini, and it’s been a great relationship that’s continuing to build. Super, super happy that they brought me on as early as they did. It’s just been a great relationship.”

NIL is a huge part of college sports now, and athletes want to make money. Ewers’ biggest piece of advice? Don’t focus on the NIL money, and the NIL money will come.

“I think the biggest lesson that I like to tell people and kind of how I feel is, if you keep the main thing, everything else will really fall in line,” Ewers added. “Because as soon as you lose what you do to earn the NIL, you lose all the NIL. You just continue to play football and remain present and remain focused on the objective – which isn’t NIL, by the way – that’ll come with the success that you have.”

Ewers is a firm believer in staying focused and letting the rest take care of itself.

“Just be present, especially if you’re in high school and you’re not receiving as much offers or whatever it is – coaches aren’t recognizing you as much,” he said. “Just remain present and continue to be consistent. As long as you stay consistent, you’re going to end up where you want to be, at the end of the day. That’s just how it goes. I was lucky enough to be a highly recruited guy, but I just tried to stay as consistent as I could as long as I could, which, at the end of the day, helped me a ton. That’s all it is about – remaining present and taking care of business and letting all the other stuff fall in line, because it will if you really put the work in.”

Now, Quinn Ewers is done earning NIL money, and he is on to NFL contracts. He signed a four-year, $4.33 million dollar contract with the Dolphins. He earned more during his time in college, but that’s not too shabby for a seventh-rounder on a rookie contract.