Barry Switzer launches NIL program to help Oklahoma athletes

Former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer launches an NIL program to benefit the Sooners.

The Oklahoma football program changed the game back in the 1980s and the Sooners’ former head coach Barry Switzer is about to do the same thing when it comes to NIL.

Switzer announced the 1Oklahoma Collective on Friday, which will allow Oklahoma student-athletes to be compensated for their names, images and likenesses across the Sooner State. The iconic head coach was in Norman when Oklahoma and Georgia sued the NCAA over television regulations in the early 1980s. Because of their hard work, college football is way better for it.

"“We changed the game in 1981 at The University of Oklahoma football by being a pioneer for schools to negotiate their own contracts and generate additional revenue,” said Switzer in a statement. “We are changing the game again with 1Oklahoma Collective. Through NIL, every OU football player will have an opportunity to earn between $40,000-50,000 a year while positively impacting the community.”"

Here is the press release in its entirety about the 1Oklahoma Collective to benefit Sooners sports.

Former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer helps launch NIL collective

Not only is this a huge opportunity for Oklahoma student-athletes, but having Switzer’s name attached to it is a total game-changer. While college sports are very much in the infancy of the NIL era, it was only going to be a matter of time before one of the biggest brands associated with Power Five athletics kicked it up a level. Sooners football players can make $50,000 going forward.

Though it remains to be seen who NIL will truly impact college athletics, elite programs like Oklahoma are going to be among the ranks who make it work the best for them. Given that Sooners football is a top-eight brand in the history of the sport, this is shocking to absolutely no one. Good for Oklahoma being on the cutting edge of college athletics like they were in the 1980s.

Ultimately, there will be obstacles the 1Oklahoma Collective will run into, but the organization and execution of it will do more good than harm for other teams across the country that want to start their own NIL collectives. Understanding the inner workings of any collective is incredibly complicated, but Oklahoma is putting its money where its mouth is to take full advantage of NIL.

Look for programs of Oklahoma’s stature to be among the select few to crack the NIL code.

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