Stanford Football hopes a big investment will pay off

Stanford Football hopes a big investment will pay off originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Andrew Luck is turning heads on the football field. Not as a player, but as a general manager. The former NFL star returned to his alma mater last year to take over Stanford’s front office. His astute knowledge of the game has brought new eyes to the program. In his first year, he made coaching changes and added a new regime to the way the team plays the game.

Approaching a year as the new GM, Luck has looked to provide a sense of pride back into the once respected football program. As we progress through this season the team is below .500 and rank in the lower half in nearly every category both offensively and defensively. That hasn’t stopped the school from receiving generous donations to the program. Recently, a former player donated a record $50 million in an effort to improve the program.

Now the real question is what can be done for this money? You could always use it to upgrade equipment and improve the facility. You could also look to make changes among the staff as well as put it in place for merchandise. The real answer lies within the players, more specifically NIL deals.

Players are no longer looking for what gives them the best chance to go pro. Now, it’s all about who can get me the best NIL deals. So, why not kill two birds with one stone?

Stanford is already considered a prestigious school that can provide you with a great education and connections to help you further your life, so why not double it up on the athletic side by adding a little incentive to the pot. Give the players significant scholarships and allow them to help reshape the world that is Stanford.

If they can bring some true star studded talent not only could it boost the teams win percentage, but it could also put them back in the limelight of the public and give players and fans something to smile about. Luck is the key to all of this.

If his “luck” is as big as his name, this football program is on a fast track to football royalty.

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