News that matters to El Paso, delivered to you. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. Independent. Nonprofit. Local. Made possible by you. Of all the stellar throws Jake Fette made in 2024 — and there were a bevy of them during the Del Valle High School quarterback’s junior year, a campaign that saw the […]
Independent. Nonprofit. Local. Made possible by you.
Of all the stellar throws Jake Fette made in 2024 — and there were a bevy of them during the Del Valle High School quarterback’s junior year, a campaign that saw the Conquistadores complete their first undefeated regular season in more than two decades — it was a set of tosses during a seemingly innocuous January workout that have reverberated. The plays touched off a frenetic 16-month period that placed the 17-year-old football phenom amid a national conversation.
That day, Kirk Bryant, then an assistant coach at Texas Tech, was in El Paso with a small contingent of Red Raider coaches to scout potential high school talent. As Del Valle head coach Rudy Contreras recalled, Bryant was getting ready to catch a flight out of the city on the heels of a conversation about a “pretty good quarterback” Contreras wanted him to see. Bryant’s flight, however, got delayed. And he reached out to Contreras to ask if he could make an unplanned visit to the Del Valle campus.
“I said, ‘We’re about to go out here and throw a little bit,’” Contreras said. “Yeah, come back.”
Bryant did more than see.
Del Valle High School quarterback Jake Fette throws a pass as the team warms up for a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
“After about four throws,” Contreras said, “(Bryant) said, ‘Hold on,’ and took out his phone, started recording.”
Bryant began FaceTiming other Texas Tech coaches, offering them a virtual glimpse of the 6-foot-2, 180-pound player who threw for 2,488 yards that fall en route to a third consecutive District 2-5A title. After the session, the coaches convened and Bryant told Contreras, “This kid is the real deal. He could be at Texas Tech and be our third best quarterback right now.”
Before the group headed back to the airport, Texas Tech extended an offer, the first of numerous schools over the last year-and-a-half that offered Fette a scholarship to play collegiately. Bryant also had some prophetic parting words for Contreras.
“He said, ‘Coach, I want you to remember we were the first ones to offer him because it’s going to get crazy here in the next couple of years,’” Contreras said. “I thought he was exaggerating. I was thinking maybe we get a couple more schools. But, two years later and, yeah, it’s been crazy.”
Fette’s story captures a transformative moment in high school and college football. As he prepares to compete this week in the prestigious Elite 11 Finals quarterback competition, he’s also navigating a recruiting process shaped by seismic shifts in college athletics. The rise of name, image and likeness compensation has rewritten the rules of recruitment and athlete branding.
Setting the stage
As a junior, Fette was unflappable, throwing for 32 touchdowns and rushing for 11 more in leading Del Valle to its second undefeated regular season in school history. In the UIL Class 5A state football playoffs, the Conquistadores became the first El Paso program to defeat Abilene Cooper in the postseason. Fette threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns while also running for two scores. He threw his lone interception of the season in the subsequent area-round loss to Lucas Lovejoy.
Jake Fette, the Del Valle quarterback who is currently ranked 4th nationally, walks off the field during a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Fette’s story took another major turn in September 2024, just as the season was getting underway. With Del Valle off to a 3-0 start and Fette already compiling 612 passing yards and 148 rushing yards — including wins over Franklin and Canutillo — he announced his verbal commitment to Arizona State on social media.
This week, Fette will be in Los Angeles to compete in the Elite 11 Finals — one of the country’s most prestigious quarterback competitions for high school seniors. The invite-only event June 17-19 at Mira Costa High School will bring together 20 of the nation’s top prospects for advanced training, on-field evaluation and leadership development. Fette is the only quarterback from the El Paso area selected to compete and will represent Del Valle among peers already committed to programs such as Texas, Clemson, Penn State and USC.
Fette chose ASU over offers from Kansas, SMU, Houston, Texas Tech, New Mexico State, Texas State, California and UTEP. His feats on the field have drawn national renown. This spring, Fette was named the No. 4 quarterback prospect in the nation in the Class of 2026 by On3 Recruits, a leading sports publication that tracks high school and college athletics.
“Jake is a great person, and he’s a great college prospect,” Contreras said. “This is a decision he took time in making and he’s got our full support here at Del Valle. He has so much promise as a player and he puts in the time to get better. He is a leader for us.”
Players to watch
Other El Paso high school football seniors drawing interest from Power Four college football programs:
Fette’s journey is unfolding in an era of historic change in college athletics. Since 2021, NCAA rules have allowed college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness — a legal right often referred to as NIL. This means student-athletes such as Fette can now earn income through endorsements, social media, autograph signings and personal appearances, all while in college.
For top-tier prospects, NIL is a key part of the recruiting conversation. College programs are increasingly evaluated not just for their coaching and facilities, but for the strength of their NIL infrastructure — including what kind of opportunities and support they offer athletes. While Texas currently does not allow high school athletes to enter into NIL deals, prospects such as Fette are already being recruited into environments where those opportunities are front and center.
Athletes and their families must now navigate an unfamiliar mix of traditional sports decision-making and modern brand-building. For Fette and his family, this balancing act has played a central role in the decisions they’ve made and how they’ve approached the spotlight.
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From the ground up: Early days and athletic roots
Jake Fette’s athleticism showed itself early, according to his father. From YMCA basketball games to flag football and soccer, he dabbled in everything.
“He was always good at sports,” said Rick Fette. “Always a little bigger, faster than the other kids. It was just fun. He had fun doing it and we had fun watching him.”
The elder Fette recalled Jake’s transition to quarterback came unexpectedly. In 2019, Del Valle’s previous head coach, Jesse Perales, left for the same position at Garland Naaman Forest. Perales’ son, DeAngelo, was the quarterback of the sixth-grade youth team where Jake played wide receiver.
“They tried out a few guys and realized (Jake) could throw a lot farther than they could,” Rick said.
Initially, the position change was jarring for the younger Fette.
“To be honest, I didn’t even like it at first,” Jake Fette said. “But, being able to control the game, I really like. I like having the ball in my hands and I get to make the decisions that choose the outcome of the game.”
The Del Valle High School football team stretches before a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Rick Fette, who played at UTEP, was cautious but observant as the years progressed.
“I knew very little about quarterbacking,” he said. “But, I saw he looked like one of the better ones. Strong arm, moved well, decent size.”
That mix of tools, versatility and parental guidance became more evident as he reached high school.
“His coaches liked him,” Rick Fette said. “We knew that people were going to be more receptive to a kind, polite kid that’s got his manners.”
A coach and a father
Rick Fette brings a unique perspective — he is both Jake’s father and one of his team’s coaches. The elder Fette, who played football at Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, has been an assistant defensive coach at Del Valle for 16 years.
He arrived in El Paso to play defensive end for UTEP in 1999 and was part of the Miners’ 2000 Western Athletic Conference championship team. Rick Fette said he chose UTEP over North Texas, Air Force and SMU because of the demeanor of then-defensive line coach Lorenzo Constantini, but also because of what he perceived as the success of the school’s strength and conditioning program.
“I thought, ‘Man, the guys are huge here,’” Rick Fette recalled of former UTEP players such as Brian Young and Paul Smith, both of whom played in the NFL. “It felt like an impressive club to be a part of.”
Rick Fette was part of stalwart defensive line units that produced NFL draft picks Leif Larsen and Menson Holloway. He said apart from his teammates, he was also impressed with the school’s amenities.
“It felt really big-time,” Rick Fette said. “When I was at UTEP, we had trainers giving us water. We had cold water in all our drills. It felt like I was in the NFL.”
That sense of professionalism, structure and preparation has shaped how he has helped guide his son through the recruiting and NIL maze.
“There’s two ways we could probably do it right now,” Rick Fette said of NIL. “You can go get an agent and have that agent go to work for you and shop you around to the highest bidder … or you go where you want to go.”
Rick Fette said they preferred the second approach — focusing on fit, relationships and values.
What Rick Fette saw in Arizona State was a program that was building the right way.
“Their background in general … what they were talking about and what they were doing even before they had a really good season, it all kind of made sense,” he said.
Jake Fette, the Del Valle quarterback who is currently ranked 4th nationally, has verbally committed to Arizona State University, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
The Arizona State commitment
Jake Fette committed to Arizona State as his junior year at Del Valle got underway — before the Sun Devils’ surprise run to the 2024 College Football Playoff.
At the time, ASU was coming off a 3-9 season and was picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 Conference in preseason rankings. But as the 2024 college football season unfolded, the Sun Devils shocked the country.
Behind the leadership of second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham and breakout performances from players such as quarterback Sam Leavitt and running back Cam Skattebo, ASU won the Big 12 championship and earned a berth in the inaugural postseason tournament. In the Peach Bowl quarterfinal, they pushed national powerhouse Texas to double overtime before falling 39-31.
Leavitt’s postseason success elevated him to national prominence — and, according to On3, a top-10 NIL valuation of $3.1 million.
Despite the meteoric rise of ASU and Leavitt’s emerging stardom, Jake Fette said he has not wavered in his commitment even as schools continue to make overtures.
“I was committed to stay committed,” he said. “I wasn’t looking to flip or anything. You know, for them to have a season like they did, it just made me more and more excited to be a part of that program.”
Jake Fette said he was impressed not just by the system, but by the authenticity of the coaches. In addition to Dillingham, Fette was courted by offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Marcus Arroyo, who has coached numerous NFL quarterbacks, including the San Diego Chargers’ Justin Herbert.
“They’re gonna tell you what it is and how it is,” Jake Fette said. “I really appreciate that. Just telling me, like, I’m not guaranteed to play or any of that, but just the fact that they’ll work with me and not lie to me.”
Contreras saw the effect ripple beyond just Jake.
“Jake Fette is spearheading that ’26 class,” Contreras said. “Now, they have a lot of commits because of Jake Fette, so they’re going to be very talented in the upcoming future.”
Jake Fette (6) receives a snap during a Del Valle High School scrimmage, May 22, 2025. Fette is nationally ranked in 4th place and has verbally committed to Arizona State University. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
NIL in focus
As the family learned more about NIL, they stayed focused on the long-term benefits rather than immediate payouts, Rick Fette said.
“Now you’ve got to basically show proof of value,” Rick Fette said. “They’re trying to follow kind of an NFL model on it.”
He pointed out that most players aren’t raking in millions — despite headlines.
“That’s a very, very select view of, like, five-star guys that they think, ‘This guy’s generational,’” he said.
On June 6, a major shift in the NIL landscape was made official with the ratification of the House v. NCAA settlement. The class-action lawsuit, brought by former college athletes including Arizona State swimmer Grant House, challenged the NCAA’s longtime restrictions on athlete compensation and forced a landmark agreement that will allow schools to share revenue directly with players for the first time.
Starting July 1, universities will be allowed to directly pay athletes through revenue-sharing agreements. Power conference schools such as Arizona State are expected to allocate up to $20.5 million annually across their athletic departments, with football projected to receive the lion’s share.
The Sun Angel Collective, the official NIL collective of Arizona State athletics, did not respond to a request for general information on how it will conduct operations during the 2025-26 athletics season.
This pay-for-play model marks a new era in college sports. Compensation is expected to be governed by a College Sports Commission, which will enforce caps and ensure NIL deals meet fair market standards. While athletes will remain classified as non-employees, their compensation could reach levels once unthinkable in college athletics. NIL contracts will be vetted through a clearinghouse run by Deloitte, with booster-funded deals facing increased scrutiny.
Del Valle High School football players run onto the field before a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
For Jake Fette, this means he will enter college amid a structured, high-stakes NIL system. While he has not spoken publicly about pursuing NIL deals, the infrastructure surrounding him will change significantly by the time he arrives in Tempe.
And through it all, the family’s guiding principle has remained steady: “He made that decision for the right reasons early on,” Rick Fette said.
Contreras agreed.
“The process and the steps that Jake has taken to get to where he’s at … he’s never asked about money,” he said.
Lessons from the past: Advice from El Paso’s quarterback trailblazers
Jake Fette isn’t the first El Paso quarterback to draw national attention — but his journey is unfolding in a landscape far different from those navigated by Steven Montez and Ed Stansbury.
Montez, also a Del Valle alumnus now living in northern California, graduated in 2015 and played at the University of Colorado and later in the NFL with the Washington Football Team. He sees continuity in the school’s culture of quarterback development.
Steven Montez
“Even before me, Del Valle was already kind of a powerhouse and a QB factory,” Montez said. “Jordan Baeza, Tury Rios, Adrian Gonzalez — all those dudes had really good runs into the playoffs and played high-level football.”
Montez believes the longevity in the school’s coaching staff is at the heart of that legacy.
“They’ve managed to keep that staff relatively intact. We had a ton of high-level coaches who taught us how to play the game and play it at a high level.”
Asked about Fette, Montez didn’t hesitate: “He’s a phenomenal player in his own right. His accuracy at his age is much farther along than I was. He spins the hell out of the ball. There’s really no weaknesses in his game.”
Stansbury, who graduated from Irvin High School in 1997, and played at UCLA and in the NFL with the Houston Texans, also sees Fette’s character as a difference-maker.
Ed Stansbury
“He’s active on social media, but he’s in no way showing off or taking advantage of the situation,” Stansbury said. “It’s been all business for Jake.”
Stansbury said his own recruiting journey was different: “A lot of my success and my exposure was due directly to my high school football coach (Tony Shaw) … he spent countless hours sending out VHS tapes.”
Now, watching NIL transform the landscape, Stansbury said Fette is handling it the right way.
“What parents and players can take away from Jake is how he has conducted himself,” Stansbury said. “The humbleness he’s carried throughout this speaks volumes.”
These lessons carry personal relevance for Stansbury, too. His son, West Stansbury, is an up-and-coming quarterback at Coronado High School. As West enters his sophomore year and begins what could become his own recruiting journey, Ed is already thinking about how to prepare him for a future that includes the realities of NIL.
“We’ve built his brand pretty good for what he’s done so far,” Stansbury said. “Now the second part is being a productive, good athlete that colleges want. The NIL opportunities will follow if those things are done. Jake’s journey shows how to do it right.”
Both Montez and Stansbury emphasized that the spotlight brings pressure, but Fette appears well-prepared.
“Just don’t let anybody take your confidence away,” Montez said. “He knows he’s a great quarterback. He just has to keep pushing to be great — and he will.”
What comes next
Jake Fette will graduate in December and enroll at Arizona State in the spring of 2025, giving him a head start to learn the playbook and adjust to the pace of college football. But before that, he has one final high school season to complete.
Del Valle High School quarterback Jake Fette, ranked 4th in the country, spins a ball as his team warms up for a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
“Last season doesn’t matter anymore, so we’ve got to prove that we’re good again,” Fette said. “I don’t think anyone’s expecting us to be as good as we were last year with all the graduates, but we’re reloaded. We’re not rebuilding.”
His preparation for his senior season, which begins Aug. 29 against Montwood High School, continues.
“I’m just gonna stick to what I’ve been doing,” he said. “Regularly work out and just get my mind ready to go.”
Contreras is already thinking ahead.
“We’re gonna miss his talent and everything he does on the field, but we’re also gonna miss the way he represents Del Valle football, the leadership he brings to this team in the locker room, the way he carries himself in the building,” he said.
As for Jake Fette, he remains focused on what matters most.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to college to play football because I love football,” he said.
For his school, his city, and the next wave of El Paso athletes, he has shown what the new standard can look like.
“Football ends at some point or another for everybody,” Contreras said. “But to know that he has some money to kind of start his life on — his adulthood on — who knows, maybe the rest of his life. It’s a good deal for them. And we’re proud.”
Jake Fette (6), the Del Valle quarterback who is currently ranked 4th nationally, kneels for a moment of silence with his team, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Verma to guide Mizzou through NIL and roster planning |
Mizzou football coach Eliah Drinkwitz has made one thing clear on Missouri’s hire of Gaurav Verma: He is not a general manager. While the GM position is becoming a more prevalent role across other programs and sports — including Tim Fuller for Mizzou men’s basketball — it isn’t something Drinkwitz is currently seeking. Instead, Verma […]
Mizzou football coach Eliah Drinkwitz has made one thing clear on Missouri’s hire of Gaurav Verma: He is not a general manager.
While the GM position is becoming a more prevalent role across other programs and sports — including Tim Fuller for Mizzou men’s basketball — it isn’t something Drinkwitz is currently seeking.
Instead, Verma will step into a role as director of football strategy and finance.
“I just want to make it clear: he’s not a GM. … That’s not even kind of what we did,” Drinkwitz said Saturday in a news conference. “It’s really just roster construction; he doesn’t have the ability to fire me.”
Verma will be the business guru of sorts for Missouri, or as Drinkwitz likes to call it, “G-Money.” The idea of his role is navigating the program through revenue sharing and contract management amid the expansion of NIL with the $2.8 billion House settlement.
With plenty of experience under his belt in the finance world, Verma has the credentials to take on such a role.
What is Verma bringing to Mizzou?
Verma received a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Johns Hopkins in 2017. He later earned an MBA in finance from MIT in 2023.
Verma’s experience primarily consists of investment banking and data science. However, his most recent position came with the Denver Broncos as a salary cap specialist, per a Mizzou Athletics news release. According to his LinkedIn profile, it was also an administrative role.
Although the NFL salary cap is different than that of college football, Verma seems to be tackling a similar job with Missouri. Now that athletic departments can share up to $20.5 million of revenue with student-athletes, having someone with his background can help ensure the football program’s share is distributed properly.
What Verma provides isn’t going to directly translate on to the field, but he will be an important part of what the Tigers can build in the future.
“With college football evolving rapidly through revenue sharing and strategic roster management, I’m excited to apply my background in finance and the NFL to help Mizzou build sustainably competitive teams on the sport’s biggest stage — the SEC,” Verma said Friday in a news release.
What does the role mean?
Verma is the first-ever director of football strategy and finance at Mizzou, so there isn’t much groundwork to estimate what his impact could look like. However, there are enough details to get an idea.
These following job responsibilities are stated in the news release:
Roster, scholarship and revenue cap planning
Talent evaluation and scouting operations
Recruiting calendar and logistics
Analytics and recruiting infrastructure
Compliance, NIL and interdepartmental collaboration
Verma will be reporting directly to Drinkwitz on any matters, while also collaborating with the “recruiting staff, compliance department, athletics administration and Every True Tiger Brands.”
So, what does that all mean?
Unlike Fuller, Verma isn’t expected to handle much of the player and agent relations. His job ultimately comes down to strategic planning for the program’s finances — an area that Drinkwitz can now take less of a responsibility in. The NIL expansion brings a lot of question marks, but he can help answer them.
As Drinkwitz mentioned Saturday, Verma will be able to inform the program on what the contracts of players look like. The third-string running back, a second-year returner and incoming recruits all bring different value, and he can determine what the designated salary for each should look like. In roster building, this should ensure stability and continuity.
As college athletics undergo substantial changes, Verma’s hire puts Mizzou in a position to be ready for them.
Michigan legend Tom Brady on current college athletics landscape: ‘The priorities are a bit messed up’
Former Michigan Wolverines football quarterback Tom Brady went 20-5 as a starter in college, before going on to win seven Super Bowls in the NFL. Having retired following the 2022 season, Brady will undoubtedly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028. Brady often credits his career at Michigan for setting up […]
Former Michigan Wolverines football quarterback Tom Brady went 20-5 as a starter in college, before going on to win seven Super Bowls in the NFL. Having retired following the 2022 season, Brady will undoubtedly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028.
Brady often credits his career at Michigan for setting up the success he had in the pros. He was buried on the depth chart to start, persevered, earned a starting job but was continued to be pushed, got drafted in the sixth round and learned how to climb the ranks in the NFL, too.
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The 48-year-old joined Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt on ‘Big Noon Conversations,’ discussing, among many other topics, the current landscape of college football and how it relates to his time at Michigan.
The five-time Super Bowl MVP has been vocal about his concerns with how the unlimited transfer rule and NIL are shaping college athletics. He believes today’s youth may be missing out on experiences and lessons that they could benefit from long term.
“You look at your own personal experience with college football and the blessing that college football was for me and how it really propelled me into a successful professional career,” Brady said. “There were so many lessons that I learned in college about competition, about growing up, about responsibility and accountability, about team, about decision-making, about work ethic, about leadership.
“All of those sustainable traits that I learned at Michigan, through not only my doing, my experience, but watching some of the other incredible men that I got to be a part of on that team and teams that I was a part of, for my entire life I can look back on that and be grateful.”
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In college, and subsequently throughout life, Brady faced adversity head on.
“I didn’t go to three different colleges,” the Michigan legend continued. “I didn’t leave college when it seemed like I wasn’t gonna play. I wasn’t at college to do anything other than have a great college experience, to go to school, to have camaraderie with my teammates and to compete at a high level. That’s really where the focus was. And at a young age, that’s where I think the focus needs to be.”
The focus now, Brady implied, is on the money and finding the path of least resistence.
“The commercialization of what’s happened in college sports, I wonder whether many kids these days will learn those sustainable traits that I think are invaluable to their life and life experience,” he said. “Are we doing them a disservice because we’re tempting them with some money in their pocket?
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“It’s very intriguing to get that quick dollar. Look, we had a $400 scholarship check, and it seemed like I was rich. It really did. I’m sure most kids felt like that. We got pizza cards to go to dinner, and we had training table, and it was an amazing experience. We didn’t think about the money.
“These kids are at such young ages. Their frontal lobes aren’t even fully developed yet, and now we’re tempting them with real life, adult situations — and their parents, and now they have agents. I’m sure it’s a very confusing time, and I’m sure a lot of parents are confused, I’m sure a lot of kids are confused.
“But because we’re just talking about money, money, money, money … that’s the only value in college? Is that what we’re saying? To me, the priorities are a bit messed up.”
Would Tom Brady have stayed at Michigan if current rules were in place?
In the past, Brady has discussed how he considered leaving Michigan for California, but decided to stick it out after conversations with head coach Lloyd Carr and athletic counselor Greg Harden, who’d hammer home the point of making the most of his opportunities and not worrying about those he was competing with.
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In those days, a football player would’ve had to sit out a year before becoming eligible at a new school. But if the current rules were in place, he would’ve been able to play right away. Brady was asked if he would’ve stayed at Michigan given the new transfer freedom that current athletes have.
“It’s such a hypothetical situation or question to think about,” the former Michigan quarterback said. “The only thing I could answer is to say that based on what my experience was, I wouldn’t want it any other way than the way that I did it.
“My college experience was very challenging. It was very competitive. The lessons I learned in college — and certainly about competition — those traits transformed my life as a professional. I was ready to compete against anybody, because the competition in college toughened me up so much that I had a self-belief and self-confidence that whatever I was faced with, I could overcome that.
“If we take that away from a young student athlete to say, ‘You know what? I know it’s tough to compete. But you know what we’re gonna do: Before you have to compete, we’re actually going to put you somewhere else so that you don’t have to compete.’ That is absolutely the wrong thing to do to a young child.
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“And I would challenge all the coaches and all the parents, they’re the ones that have to guide these kids. You can’t expect a 17- or 18-year-old to make these great decisions. They’re young. They don’t have life experience. It should be the parents. Be a good parent! Teach your kid the right values! What’s gonna sustain them in their careers over a period of time? Whether it’s football or whether it’s business or whether it’s teaching or law school or medical school or a trade, whatever you want to do.
“You’re gonna have to go through hard things in your life, you’re gonna have to make tough choices. And the value isn’t always about the last dollar. All of these things that are happening in college sports, we’re prioritizing the wrong things. We’re valuing the wrong things.
“I’m not saying it’s not important. It’s one of 10 things that are important. And certainly, to me, it’s not the most important. So when kids do go through that the right way, they’re actually learning the right values. When you have the right values in life, that’s gonna sustain you as you move on through the rest of your life.”
Mizzou football Eliah Drinkwitz has made one thing clear on Missouri’s hire of Gaurav Verma: He is not a general manager. While the GM position is becoming a more prevalent role across other programs and sports — including Tim Fuller for Mizzou men’s basketball — it isn’t something Drinkwitz is currently seeking. Instead, Verma will […]
While the GM position is becoming a more prevalent role across other programs and sports — including Tim Fuller for Mizzou men’s basketball — it isn’t something Drinkwitz is currently seeking.
Instead, Verma will step into a role as director of football strategy and finance.
“I just want to make it clear: he’s not a GM. … That’s not even kind of what we did,” Drinkwitz said Saturday in a news conference. “It’s really just roster construction; he doesn’t have the ability to fire me.”
Verma will be the business guru of sorts for Missouri, or as Drinkwitz likes to call it, “G-Money.” The idea of his role is navigating the program through revenue sharing and contract management amid the expansion of NIL with the $2.8 billion House settlement.
With plenty of experience under his belt in the finance world, Verma has the credentials to take on such a role.
What is Verma bringing to Mizzou?
Verma received a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Johns Hopkins in 2017. He later earned an MBA in finance from MIT in 2023.
Verma’s experience primarily consists of investment banking and data science. However, his most recent position came with the Denver Broncos as a salary cap specialist, per a Mizzou Athletics news release. According to his LinkedIn profile, it was also an administrative role.
Although the NFL salary cap is different than that of college football, Verma seems to be tackling a similar job with Missouri. Now that athletic departments can share up to $20.5 million of revenue with student-athletes, having someone with his background can help ensure the football program’s share is distributed properly.
What Verma provides isn’t going to directly translate on to the field, but he will be an important part of what the Tigers can build in the future.
“With college football evolving rapidly through revenue sharing and strategic roster management, I’m excited to apply my background in finance and the NFL to help Mizzou build sustainably competitive teams on the sport’s biggest stage — the SEC,” Verma said Friday in a news release.
What does the role mean?
Verma is the first-ever director of football strategy and finance at Mizzou, so there isn’t much groundwork to estimate what his impact could look like. However, there are enough details to get an idea.
These following job responsibilities are stated in the news release:
Roster, scholarship and revenue cap planning
Talent evaluation and scouting operations
Recruiting calendar and logistics
Analytics and recruiting infrastructure
Compliance, NIL and interdepartmental collaboration
Verma will be reporting directly to Drinkwitz on any matters, while also collaborating with the “recruiting staff, compliance department, athletics administration and Every True Tiger Brands.”
So, what does that all mean?
Unlike Fuller, Verma isn’t expected to handle much of the player and agent relations. His job ultimately comes down to strategic planning for the program’s finances — an area that Drinkwitz can now take less of a responsibility in. The NIL expansion brings a lot of question marks, but he can help answer them.
As Drinkwitz mentioned Saturday, Verma will be able to inform the program on what the contracts of players look like. The third-string running back, a second-year returner and incoming recruits all bring different value, and he can determine what the designated salary for each should look like. In roster building, this should ensure stability and continuity.
As college athletics undergo substantial changes, Verma’s hire puts Mizzou in a position to be ready for them.
NIL Oversight Tightens as Athlete Payments Reach New Scale
Last Updated on August 11, 2025 More than $1.6 billion in NIL money is expected to paid out to college athletes this year according to Opendorse, much of it managed by outside parties with little direct supervision. The arrangement has added pressure on athletic departments already dealing with contract disputes, confusing tax requirements, and uneven […]
More than $1.6 billion in NIL money is expected to paid out to college athletes this year according to Opendorse, much of it managed by outside parties with little direct supervision. The arrangement has added pressure on athletic departments already dealing with contract disputes, confusing tax requirements, and uneven application of existing rules. Federal agencies may soon be stepping in to reassert control.
An executive order from President Trump has asked the The Department of Education, Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, and the Federal Trade Commission to get involved by providing guidance and clarifications focused on issues ranging from the application of Title IX with regards to revenue sharing to athletes’ status as non-employees.
As athletic departments begin to implement revenue sharing, some compliance departments have started pointing to industries where large sums move cleanly, without delays or extended oversight. According to Esports Insider payout speed insights, top betting platforms now process user withdrawals in minutes through fully automated systems built for simple, secure, and instant payments. With the gap in speed and certainty growing, these differences in infrastructure are reshaping how programs weigh reliability and turnaround speed.
New guidelines put in place by the NCAA this July place direct responsibility on schools to manage funding streams with reporting guidelines in place. Instead of relying on third-party organizations, institutions will soon be required to structure NIL payouts under a regulated cap, with up to $20.5 million annually permitted for direct distribution to athletes.
That figure, which sits outside the scholarship budget, marks the beginning of a phased system expected to reach $33 million per year, per institution, over the next decade. Most of the money will still concentrate on football and men’s basketball, but that may change if there are future Title IX challenges or guidance from the federal government.
In response, several Division I universities have started building their own NIL tracking tools, borrowing from fintech models that show payments as they happen. These systems are still in early stages, but what once felt like a chaotic experiment is settling into a $1 billion system that demands precision, and those adjusting in motion are already setting the pace.
Rick Pitino joins Coach K in calling for ACC-Big East merger
Back in January, Mike Krzyzewski made headlines when he pitched the idea of the ACC and the Big East merging to form a “mega conference” to keep up with the SEC and Big Ten. Another prominent voice has joined him: Rick Pitino. On a podcast with Jon Rothstein, Pitino said that the Big East teaming […]
Back in January, Mike Krzyzewski made headlines when he pitched the idea of the ACC and the Big East merging to form a “mega conference” to keep up with the SEC and Big Ten. Another prominent voice has joined him: Rick Pitino.
On a podcast with Jon Rothstein, Pitino said that the Big East teaming up with the ACC would be “an awesome thing” for college basketball, combining the traditional powers of Duke, North Carolina, and Louisville with the Big East brands of UConn, Villanova, St. John’s, etc. Last season, Pitino brought St. John’s back to prominence in year two, leading the Red Storm to a 31-5 record, including an 18-2 mark in conference play, and the Big East championship.
“In order for the Big East and the ACC to survive this football mania — because a bad college football game will surpass an NBA playoff game as far as viewership is concerned,” Pitino said. “So, if we want to survive basketball-wise with the ACC and the Big East and to preserve the Dukes, the Carolinas, the Louisvilles of the world, and the Big East, combining it into a mega conference would be an awesome thing.”
Awesome, yes, but realistic? Not exactly. Most of the schools in the Big East don’t play football, so it’s hard to see the ACC agreeing to a merger from a financial standpoint. There are also TV rights to consider. Pitino said he would like the Big East to expand to 16-17 teams “yesterday” in order to give each school a natural partner/rival; however, he said the league’s presidents are against expansion because adding more schools would mean distributing more money.
“Unfortunately, outside of Coach K and myself, I don’t think there are a lot of feelings that way,” he said of a potential ACC/Big East merger. “I don’t think the NCAA is very proactive, I don’t think the ACC and the Big East are very proactive. I don’t think they think outside of the box.”
Even at age 72, Pitino is still thinking outside of the box. Later in the conversation with Rothstein, he said coaching “keeps [me] young” and opened up about a recent conversation he had with his son Richard, the head coach at Xavier.
“My son and I, Richard, had a huge discussion the other night. He said, ‘Why would you ever retire?’ And I said, ‘Well, you get on in age.’ He said, ‘Yeah, but what would you do? You suck at golf. What else would you do?’ I said, ‘I’ll go watch you play, Richard, and hopefully see you get to a Final Four. And he said, ‘No, let’s talk seriously.’ I said, ‘No, I agree with you. I don’t know what else I would do.’
“I think the blessing for me is I was two years out of the game, and boy, did I miss it. I can’t do what Jay Wright does. He’s just such a together person; he really is. He’s just great at so many different things. If I’m without basketball, I think I would age considerably.”
One thing is for certain: Pitino being back and good makes college basketball a much more entertaining sport.
Tom Brady sounds off on what’s wrong with college football
College sports are significantly different from when Tom Brady led the Michigan Wolverines at quarterback in the late 1990s, and the retired seven-time Super Bowl champion is wary of the current landscape of college football in the NIL era. The path that Brady took at Michigan is becoming a rarity in today’s era. He appeared […]
College sports are significantly different from when Tom Brady led the Michigan Wolverines at quarterback in the late 1990s, and the retired seven-time Super Bowl champion is wary of the current landscape of college football in the NIL era.
The path that Brady took at Michigan is becoming a rarity in today’s era. He appeared in only 6 games before getting his first real opportunity as a full-time starter as a junior. Brady went on to start his final two seasons before landing to the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in 2000 NFL Draft.
Fast forward to today, where players, especially quarterbacks, are tempted with lofty NIL packages and playing-time guarantees in the transfer portal. Players are no longer incentivized to develop behind the scenes, waiting their turn for a starting role.
Michigan Wolverines quarterback Tom Brady (10) / RVR Photos-Imagn Images
“I wasn’t at college to do anything other than have a great college experience, to go to school, to have camaraderie with my teammates and to compete at a high level,” Brady said on “The Joel Klatt Show.” “That’s really where the focus was, and at a young age, I think the focus needs to be.”
The NCAA doesn’t consider student athletes as employees of their schools, but players are basically professionals. And that has even trickled down to the high school ranks, where recruits are offered revenue-share contracts before playing a snap of college football.
That has created a shift to “messed up” priorities, according to Brady.
“I wonder whether many kids, these days, will learn those sustainable traits that, I think, are invaluable to their life and life experience,” Brady continued. “Are we doing them a disservice because we are tempting them with some money in their pocket? The quick dollar, it’s very intriguing to get that quick dollar. To me, the priorities are a bit messed up.”
Del Valle High School quarterback Jake Fette throws a pass as the team warms up for a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Jake Fette, the Del Valle quarterback who is currently ranked 4th nationally, walks off the field during a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
The Del Valle High School football team stretches before a spring scrimmage, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Jake Fette, the Del Valle quarterback who is currently ranked 4th nationally, has verbally committed to Arizona State University, May 22, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
