Penn State is definitely in the middle tier of the NIL race, but it shouldn't last for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State has suffered slightly over the last couple of weeks by having an obvious deficit in NIL funds. In a day and age of college football, when money talks, Penn State appears to be on the short end of the stick right now.
It is not drastic, and Penn State certainly is not in danger of losing all of the positive momentum that they have built this offseason, but it has definitely taken a hit.
In the last two weeks, they have lost two of their top recruits from the 2026 class. The first was the loss of four-star defensive back Semajay Robinson, who flipped at the last second from Penn State to Virginia.
This was the first warning sign that something was up because Robinson was one of the first to commit to Penn State under Matt Campbell, and he flipped nearly immediately after his official visit.
Then, the next flip was another significant one. Another four-star recruit, wide receiver Jamir Dean, flipped his commitment from Penn State to Georgia.
This again signaled that for some of the top recruits, Penn State lost the bidding war. However, it doesn't just stop there. If we look back on the value of their roster, the Nittany Lions are middle of the pack in the Big Ten, and bottom of the Top-25.
Penn State's roster value last season was a healthy $29.7 million which was $13 million short of where Ohio State and Oregon were at last year.
Some of the neighbors to Penn State are Washington and Nebraska, which is kind of the tier that Penn State has found themself in.
While it is mostly negative, the situation shouldn't last very long.
Penn State's money is being split in several different ways right now. The first big-time focus of the Penn State funds is on the stadium renovations that are taking place at Beaver Stadium.
The second big reason is that they are in between partnership brand deals. Nike is no longer the sponsor, and Adidas doesn't start until July 1.
Once the stadium wraps up and the Adidas money kicks in, Penn State will be able to accelerate its NIL funds.
For as long as they are $13 million behind Ohio State, they will never be able to compete with them consistently. Once the funds pick up, so will the play on the field.
Unfortunately, those two things go hand in hand, and for Matt Campbell, it will get better very soon.
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