How much LSU football offered transfer portal QB Brendan Sorsby | Report
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BATON ROUGE — Cincinnati transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby was at the top of every school’s list that needed a quarterback, and LSU football was included in that.
New LSU coach Lane Kiffin and his program was one of the fortunate two to get Sorsby on campus for a visit, which he did this past weekend. It was then LSU made its Name, Image, Likeness marketing and revenue sharing deal to him which was upwards of $4.5 million altogether, Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday.
Sorsby signed a contract with Texas Tech, the other school he visited this past weekend, that is believed to be at least $5 million total, according to the report.
The 11-page deal from LSU was made through the university’s multimedia rights partner, Playfly Sports Properties detailed how the compensation was Sorsby was going to be structured during his one year with the football program. For Sorsby, $3.5 million was going to be handled by NILSU MAX, an independent entity formed in affiliation by Playfly and LSU athletics while “likely at least $1 million” would’ve come from LSU’s revenue sharing cap money.
If NILSU MAX couldn’t fulfill the guaranteed amount of $3.5 million to Sorsby, it was contractually obligated to come up with the money using his name, image and likeness on promotional materials as well as organizing a “limited amount” of autograph signings and appearance, per the contract.
There were also incentives tied to the proposed deal to Sorsby which included a $500,000 bonus should he win the Heisman Trophy and $200,000 for winning the Maxwell Award, which is presented annually to college football’s top player. Quarterback Joe Burrow is the most recent LSU player to win the award back in 2019.
What’s interesting about LSU’s proposed deal to Sorsby is how does it fly with programs supposedly operating under a revenue-sharing pool, which is marked at $20.5 million?
The College Sports Commission, the industry’s new enforcement agency, and NIL Go signs off on third-party contract for student-athletes, determining if the deals have a “valid business purpose” and that they do not exceed an established “range of compensation.”
But the agency was only started this past June. So it’s unclear if NIL GO would have approved the deal or not as there’s very little precedent at this time.
Kiffin and LSU are still in the market for a quarterback out of transfer portal. Arizona State transfer signal caller Sam Leavitt was on campus for a visit the last two days and LSU has reported interest in Washington quarterback Demond Williams.
It’s unknown what proposed deals to those quarterbacks would look like — likely not as high as LSU’s offer to Sorsby as he was the top player in the transfer portal at his position. But the one guarantee if the offer would be competitive.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: How much LSU football offered transfer portal QB Brendan Sorsby | Report
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