The competition for NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) money in college football boils down to securing millions of dollars for the very best players in the country — one former Colorado assistant coach took that pursuit to a new level, according to a report from Sports Illustrated.
According to SI, former Colorado assistant coach and special teams coordinator Trevor Reilly went overseas to try and find NIL resources, taking a meeting in Saudi Arabia seeking money from the country's Public Investment Fund on behalf of the Colorado football team. The PIF is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, with access to over $1 trillion in resources.
The PIF, which is run by the Saudi government has dipped its toes in the world of sports before and are stakeholders in soccer clubs Chelsea and Newcastle United as well as the lead investor in LIV Golf and also a part owner of Formula One.
Sports Illustrated reviewed the resignation letter Reilly turned into Colorado athletic director Rick George and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders on Aug. 1.
"The arrangement was that, because I did all the NIL work at Jackson and got us through, you guys would pay me a modest salary and make me the Special Teams Coordinator, which should have freed up time for me to handle NIL activities," Reilly wrote. "You paid me $90,000 a year and let me handle special teams. I did all this work in your name and was told to pursue it. I burned through all my contacts in my Mormon community, which is worth about $3 trillion. Now, I can't get these people to answer my calls because I just found out today that none of my endeavors will happen. I even went to Saudi Arabia and got a meeting with the Saudis, who were interested in pursuing business. I have email receipts to prove it, and you guys let it fall flat on its face."
Colorado has the highest-paid NIL player in college football with quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who has a reported annual NIL value of $4.7 million.