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The First Test of the New NIL Order

Demond Williams tried to leave Washington.

He didn't get far. The quarterback had already signed a one-year, $4M contract with the Huskies—and under the new House settlement rules, that contract has teeth. If Williams left, either he or his new school would have owed Washington the full value of the deal. His new school would have also taken a hit to next year's revenue-share pool.

So Williams is staying on Montlake.

Here's why this matters: for years, the transfer portal was a one-way door. Players could leave whenever they wanted, and schools had no recourse. That's over. The House settlement didn't just create revenue sharing—it created contract enforcement. AD Pat Chun's statement made the message clear: these deals will be honored, or there will be consequences.

This won't be the last time we see this play out. [LINK 1] [LINK 2]

The $1M Transfer That Changes Everything

Brendan Sorsby wanted Texas Tech.

Texas Tech wanted him back. But the former Cincinnati quarterback had one season left on a multi-year revenue sharing deal with the Bearcats—and that deal had a buyout clause. Price tag: $1 million.

Here's where it gets interesting.

Texas Tech knew about the buyout before they recruited him. They factored it into their budget. And under College Sports Commission guidelines, that $1M now counts against Tech's $20.5M revenue sharing cap for 2025-26. Tech doesn't have to write Cincinnati a check directly—but the money comes off their books either way.

This is the new math of college football recruiting.

Schools aren't just bidding on talent anymore. They're inheriting contractual obligations. They're managing cap space like NFL front offices. And players with buyout clauses? They just became harder to poach—or more expensive to acquire.

The portal is still open. But it's no longer free. [LINK]

The $5M Eligibility Fight That Could End Up in Court

The NCAA said no.

Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss's quarterback, requested an eligibility waiver. The NCAA denied it, and their reasoning was blunt. The medical documentation didn't add up. A physician's note from December 2022 said Chambliss was "doing very well." His prior school had no injury reports, no medical records, nothing. Their explanation for why he didn't play in 2022-23? "Developmental needs and our team's competitive circumstance."

That's not a medical hardship. That's a coach's decision.

Here's where it gets interesting.

Chambliss has already signed a revenue-share deal with Ole Miss worth more than $5M per year. And his attorney? Tom Mars, the same lawyer who's made a career out of beating the NCAA in court. Mars isn't backing down. He's drafted a lawsuit and released a statement calling out "bureaucrats in Indianapolis who couldn't care less about the law."

This is about to move from committee rooms to courtrooms.

The NCAA's waiver process has always been a black box. Arbitrary. Inconsistent. But when $5M contracts are on the line and Tom Mars is on the other side of the table, "denied" might not be the final word. [LINK 1] [LINK 2] [LINK 3]

DEEP DIVE

Colorado State Fired an 8-5 Coach to Hire a 64-Year-Old. Here's Why the Numbers Say That's Smart.

Most fans think CSU panicked.

Jay Norvell went 8-5 last year. He posted a 6-1 league mark. He made Fort Collins care about football again.

But one season doesn't erase four years of data.

Here's what the full picture looks like: 18-31 overall. A losing record at home—14-23. Zero wins against ranked opponents. Zero bowl wins. A .357 record in November, meaning when the pressure went up, the Rams went down. And here's the detail that should bother you: across Norvell's 18 victories at CSU, only two came against teams that finished with winning records.

The wins looked good. They were hollow.

Jim Mora has a different résumé. At UCLA: 46-30 with a Pac-12 South title, two 10-win seasons, and four bowl appearances. Career bowl record: 12-9. Career mark against ranked teams: 14-18—not dominant, but he's been in those games and won his share.

Then there's UConn.

Before Mora arrived, the Huskies were 9-50 over five years. They hadn't made a bowl in a decade. In four seasons, Mora flipped them to 27-23 with back-to-back nine-win years, a ranked upset, and a .692 late-season record. When the games mattered most, his teams showed up.

That's the profile CSU is buying.

The Rams are entering the rebuilt Pac-12 with promises of real NIL money and upgraded resources. They need someone who's operated at that level. Mora has Pac-12 experience, West Coast recruiting ties, and proof he can build from rubble.

Norvell raised the floor from the Addazio crater.

But he never beat a ranked team. Never won a bowl game. Never proved he could win when it counted.

CSU traded a promising G5 profile for a proven rebuilder with Power conference equity. The numbers say that's the right call.

[Read more in our deep dive here.]

A PERSONAL NOTE

A year ago this week, our Eaton Fire rescue dog lost everything he knew.

So did his family.

At approximately 3:00 a.m., neighbors pounded on their door. The fire was approaching. Time to evacuate. Fifteen minutes later, they were driving down the street with nothing but what they could carry.

A mom. A nine-year-old girl. Three dogs - two over ten, one just over two.

In the rearview mirror, the entire Jane's Village section of Altadena was on fire.

Everything else was gone.

Bubba's five-month journey to our house started there. The next month brought a blur of couches and temporary stays, finally ending with 700 of his closest friends at the Pasadena Humane Society.

Over the following weeks, his family made the difficult decision to move him from "boarding" to "adoption."

In May, we fostered him. It was supposed to be ten days. After two, all of us - including Bubba - knew he was home.

We spent two months working with trainer Cristina to address the trauma he'd suffered.

You see, Bubba trusted no one.

It took a short time for him to trust me. But with anyone else? Defensive. Reactive. His aggressive responses to strangers scared everyone who came near him.

One afternoon, he jumped on the back of my neighbor Bob.

Eighty pounds of two-year-old yellow lab, no warning. Bob had the exact reaction you'd expect.

That was the Bubba we were dealing with.

Then, in July, something shifted.

He decided most people are okay.

Others started seeing the friendly, loving dog I'd known since May. People began stopping me on our daily walks, noticing how happy Bubba had become.

Bob is now one of Bubba's biggest cheerleaders.

Bubba is now a favorite of my neighbors. If he's ever missing, I know at least four homes to check before going anywhere else.

We often joke that Bubba is running for mayor.

Beware, Victor Gordo.

Bubba found his forever home. Many others are still waiting.

The Pasadena Humane Society still has fire rescue dogs in boarding - and countless others ready for adoption. If you can help, donate here.

THAT’S A WRAP

That's it for this week.

Tuesday, we're back with more coaching profiles. The carousel isn't done spinning—and neither are we. If there's a hire you want us to break down, reply to this email. We read everything.

Until then, get ready for the National Championship game between Miami and Indiana. Hot Seater Tracie, and IU alum, can hardly contain herself.