Former QB Jameis Winston has donated money to FSU NIL, but the Seminoles' on-field success hasn't followed his generous investment.
In recent memory, the most prolific years of gridiron success for the Florida State Seminoles came under former coach Jimbo Fisher in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The Seminoles, led by quarterback Jameis Winston, posted a 27-1 record and won the BCS National Championship in 2013. As the starter behind center, Winston won 26 games in two seasons in Tallahassee and hoisted the Heisman Trophy at the end of the 2013 campaign.
Winston declared for the 2015 NFL draft and was taken at No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has played for four different teams over his 10-year pro career, and is currently on the New York Giants roster.
According to Spotrac.com, Winston’s NFL earnings have totaled $80 million. Former players have been known to give money back to the athletic departments of their alma maters.
Winston was asked off camera after a recent interview with Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports, how much money he has given to FSU. Winston was quoted as saying "more than a million."
During the interview with Roberts, Winston also spoke about being a good financial steward of money. That was a hard lesson learned for Winston. When it came to spending money, Winston was not exactly a miser as he dealt with financial woes as a rookie with the Bucs. In an episode of the No Free Lunch podcast with Ndamukong Suh, Winston touched on his early money struggles as an NFL player.
"Early on in my career, it got to a point where I enabled the people around me to spend $400,000 a month on clothes, trying to do stuff on eBay, trying to flip stuff. When you see eight figures, you think this ain't going nowhere."---New York Giants QB Jameis Winston, speaking on his financial history.
Name, Image and Likeness money, or “pay for play,” has taken what was once a fairly level playing field and created a sheer cliff for colleges to climb. Some programs have trekked through this new terrain of collegiate sports with some consistency, while most struggle from year to year.
The 13-1 season of 2023 notwithstanding, Winston has not seen a good return on his investment as one of the benefactors of the Seminoles' NIL program.
Florida State went 83-23 under Fisher, including a 27-13 record after Winston left for the NFL in 2015. But when Fisher took the Texas A&M job and was replaced by Willie Taggert and later Mike Norvell, the Seminoles posted a 47-46 record -- not exactly setting the college football world on fire. That is significant when you consider the state of Florida is a recruiting hotbed for football talent at the highest high-school level.
College coaches, with their multimillion-dollar salaries, feel the pressure to win now. So, they use the dreaded transfer portal and the allure of millions of dollars in NIL funds to entice experienced college players to leave their current teams and come and play for them.
A consequence of this, unintended or not, is that those roster spots once reserved for high-school stars evaporate before their very eyes. Unless you are a can’t miss, 5-star recruit, most of the prep talent now must seriously consider schools in the Group of Five, or at the FCS and D-II level. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Over the past two seasons, the Seminoles have posted a 7-17 record under Norvell, and have won just three games against ACC opponents. Certainly, Norvell is on the hot seat. Norvell might as well be patrolling the sidelines in fire-retardant clothing, with a couple of staffers on standby with a fire hose, if he cannot produce a winner out of Doak Campbell Stadium this season.
If Norvell fails, the only thing coming out of Winston’s wallet from now on will be moths.
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