NIL
Texas Tech GM who turned down Notre Dame compares Red Raiders to Oregon Ducks
In the name, image, and likeness era, college football general managers have become a position of necessity. They manage millions of dollars in NIL funding and have to watch how every dollar is spent to build competitive rosters while maintaining some sort of ethical and compliance standards. It has been alleged that there are going […]
In the name, image, and likeness era, college football general managers have become a position of necessity. They manage millions of dollars in NIL funding and have to watch how every dollar is spent to build competitive rosters while maintaining some sort of ethical and compliance standards. It has been alleged that there are going to be rosters taking the field next season that cost upwards of $35-40 million.
Texas Tech has fully embraced the NIL game and used it to entice 21 transfer players to come to Lubbock. At the center of that success is new GM James Blanchard. Blanchard was a hot commodity and turned down a Director of Player Personnel position at Notre Dame to build at Tech. Recently, Blanchard indicated that he views Texas Tech in a similar way to what Oregon must have looked like when that program was on the verge of becoming a national power.
“As far as resources and alignment go, this has to be one of the best five jobs in America. Now, we have to put a proven product on the field and get those results to back that up. But from the admin to the donors to the coaches and support staff, I can only imagine this is how it felt at Oregon when they first started getting tread on those tires”
– Texas Tech football GM James Blanchard
Blanchard used the NIL power given to him from an alumni base that has its foundations in oil money to revamp an 8-5 team into a team that many analysts see as a favorite to win the Big 12. Beyond that, Tech has the skill and experience to make the 2026 College Football Playoff and compete with the big boys of college football. With Blanchard in place and a war chest of an NIL program, Tech is poised to be a consistent threat in college football for years to come.
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