NIL
Jedd Fisch emphasizes NIL investment and growth for UW football
As the Washington Huskies continue their quest towards the top of the Big Ten Conference, an influx of money to continue investments in the football program is exactly what Jedd Fisch is looking for.
After an extremely successful start to the school’s Go Big! campaign, which upped its goal from $300 million to $350 million after raising $123 million in its first year, the head coach was asked on Monday what some of his long-term goals are for his program, as cash continues to flow into Washington’s athletic department.
He quickly responded with an increased investment in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL).
“We’re always going to look to be part of the arms race of college football,” Fisch said. “We’ll continue to look at other ways to continue to enhance the facilities and improve upon what we have, but really, the other investments are going to come in NIL.”
“You have to be able to get involved in third-party NIL, that’s the biggest message that’s been out there in all of college athletics, from NIL to head coaches is your community investment, business investment, and third-party investment into your players is going to be the most critical thing moving forward.”
As NIL continues to reshape the world of college athletics, it will also become more regulated. Third-party NIL deals will have to be reviewed and approved by outside consultants before they can go into effect, and Fisch is fully aware of how that can impact his team.
“The more third-party, legitimate NIL deals you can bring to the table, the better opportunity you have to improve your roster, to enhance your ability to retain players, and to be able to go get players,” he continued. “That’s really what it’s going to come down to: what type of investment will the community make into the team? And really, it’s going to become a business investment.”
Since his arrival, Fisch has been eager to secure some of the Fortune 500 companies in the Seattle area on board with his program, and as he continues to emphasize NIL, the Huskies have a great opportunity to become one of the Big Ten’s leading players in the department.