LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- I'm sure Kentucky coach Mark Stoops is correct. Georgia football has more Name, Image and Likeness money to spend than Kentucky football. I don't even need to see the numbers.
Georgia is one of those families that always has the newest SUV. And a nice boat. Probably has a lake house AND a beach house. Probably saw Taylor Swift in Atlanta AND Nashville.
Stoops wasn't wrong when he got off on that tangent on his radio show earlier this week.
"I can promise you -- Georgia, they bought some pretty good players," Stoops said Monday in response to an upset fan on his weekly show. "You're allowed to these days, and we could use some help. That's what they look like, you know what I mean, when you have 85 of 'em. I encourage anybody that's disgruntled to pony up some more."
NIL and Kentucky's ability to raise money for it has been a sore spot for Stoops for a while. Kentucky was not an early adopter. Other states in the SEC's footprint were more proactive, and have booster populations that are, let's just face it, more motivated. And, perhaps, more financially powerful.
But here's where Stoops' comparison rings a bit hollow. Kentucky bought some really good players too. I'm sure the folks at N.C. State think Stoops bought a pretty good quarterback in Devin Leary (On3's NIL valuation of him was $507,000). He was the No. 2-rated quarterback in the portal.
People at Vanderbilt would tell you that Stoops bought a pretty good running back in Ray Davis (On3 NIL valuation $490,000). He was the No. 4-rated portal running back.
Lesson No. 1 here: There is always someone who has more money. Some of us are shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue and some at Walmart. At the same time, there are always people less financially fortunate than you are.
I shoot photography at football games. There's always someone with better gear. Usually, lots of people. (Not to mention people who are more experienced, more talented, better-trained, etc.)
Everybody has to do their best with what they have. At the end of the day, if all other things are equal and you're beaten by somebody with more resources, then you talk about the resources. Maybe. But if, at the final buzzer, you didn't play your best, talking about the resources can actually be counterproductive.
Stoops is not a deflect-the-blame guy. He never has been. After a decade in Lexington, we know this about him. But that kind of comment ventures into deflection territory, frank as it may have been.
Lesson No. 2: Paying a guy more doesn't necessarily mean he won't jump before the snap. Or get called for holding. Or miss a receiver. Or a tackle. Or drop a pass.
The fact of the matter is that a lot of teams who spend a lot less money on football — and pitifully less on NIL — played more competitive games against Kentucky than Kentucky played against Georgia.
Ask EKU about the players UK bought. Or Akron.
While it's true that NIL money makes the world go around in college football — and that fans need to start having the light bulb go off that the more money they give to these collectives the better players their coaches can get — the most important thing remains what you do with these players once they've been signed, sealed and delivered.
I wish, like all of you, we knew how much NIL money every player on the field was getting. In the NFL, we pretty much know how much everybody is making. That matters, when it comes to evaluation, both as a reporter and a fan.
It's human nature. We're harder on a guy making $500,000 than we are on a guy making $85,000. To whom much is paid, much is required.
Along those lines, Stoops is making $9 million a year. Part of the reason Kentucky is paying him that much is because it is asking him to do more with less. You're asking him to compete with Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and soon Texas.
And, unlike Kentucky basketball, you're going to have to do it with players you develop. Stoops has shown the ability to do that. Nobody was doing cartwheels when Josh Allen signed with Kentucky. Stoops and his staff worked with him and made him the best defensive player in the country.
What Stoops is asking for, I think, is just enough to get maybe two or three more top-shelf guys every year.
Surely, he knows his cupboard is never going to be as full as Kirby Smart's or Nick Saban's. Whose is?
What he said wasn't wrong. I feel like it was an angry response for a fan looking to get a rise out of him. But it was the wrong note at the wrong time. Kentucky needs discretionary NIL money. Everyone does. But Kentucky needs a lot more than that if it is hoping to take the final step of competing against the Georgias and Alabamas of the world.
The requirement is to do more with less. And at Kentucky, like at 95% of programs in college football, it always will be.
Kentucky fans have done pretty well by the program. Kentucky has gotten some top players. Kentucky fans have sold out Kroger Field for the rest of the season. The administration has made investments, and will continue to make them.
But sometimes, it's less about ponying up than knuckling down.
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