‘Money Talks’ Falls on Deaf Ears at Florida State

Since their ACC championship season of 2023, the Florida State Seminoles have posted an 11-20 record. That includes the embarrassing 60-point loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

The Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff, even with a 13-0 regular season record and a conference championship in hand.

Coach Mike Norvell later signed a contract extension for eight years and worth $80 million. This was insurance to keep Norvell from leaving Florida State to take the Alabama job.

Nick Saban announced his retirement at the end of the 2023 season. At the time of that new offer sheet, Norvell had posted a record at Florida State of 31-17.

Since the start of the 2024 season, with his bank account flush with cash, Norvell has since led the Seminoles to a 10-20 record.

Additional money was spent by the university to upgrade facilities. While this is important in the bigger picture, an unintended (or maybe intended) consequence was that NIL and roster building were made to suffer, a victim of narrow focus and depleted funds.

As Florida State (3-3) prepares for their road game at in-state rival and No. 3 Miami (5-0) this week, the comparison of NIL money spent and the results by both teams from the 2024 season until now is not even close.

In 2024, quarterback Cam Ward was the prize gunslinger in the transfer portal. Florida State was one of the schools on his list, along with Miami. Ward eventually signed an NIL deal with the Hurricanes for $934,000, and he single-handedly changed the trajectory of the Miami football program.

Due to that deal, the Seminoles had to “settle” for former Oregon State/Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who signed an NIL deal for $433,000.

Uiagalelei played in just five games that season and threw more interceptions (6) than touchdown passes (4). Florida State finished with a dismal 2-10 record.

Last season, Miami lured Carson Beck away from Kirby Smart and Georgia, after flirting with the NFL Draft, for $3.1 million. Beck did not participate in spring practice with the Hurricanes because of a surgically-repaired elbow. 

Beck led the Hurricanes to a 13-3 record and an appearance in the national championship game, in which Miami lost to Indiana.

Florida State signed Boston College transfer Tommy Castellanos in 2025 for $800,000, and the Seminoles limped to a 5-7 season. 

Last month, Miami signed an apparel deal with Nike that is worth $200 million over 10 years. Approximately $20 million in cash will be distributed annually to the school. Imagine what that $20 million can do for future roster building.

According to a story by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, three things stood out that made this deal possible. First, the Hurricanes are a national brand that has been reinvigorated by the recent success of the Miami football program.

Secondly, members of the school’s administration and Board of Trustees personally took on the task of assessing the potential of a deal with Nike.

And third, Nike was willing to join forces with one of the most successful college athletic programs in the country.

This season, Miami has the No. 1 offense in college football. It is triggered by Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah. The Hurricanes lured Mensah to South Florida with $6.5 million. From 2024 through five games this season, the Hurricanes have posted a 28-6 record.

Florida State signed former Auburn/Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels to its roster this season for an estimated $1 million-$1.5 million. Daniels has thrown seven interceptions this season and has completed 59.5 percent of his passes.

Since 2022, Miami coach Mario Cristobal has led the Hurricanes to a 40-19 record. By contrast, since the 2020 season, Norvell has coached the Seminoles to a 41-37 record.

Success on the field and like-minded visionaries in the athletic department, as well as the top levels of the university administration, can generate millions of dollars in revenue for college athletics. Winning cures all that ails a college football program.

Money does talk, as long as the right people in the right seats on the bus are listening.