Penn State head coach James Franklin watches from the sideline against Nevada during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

This is already the fifth football season that NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) has been in existence, and many of the details remain behind the scenes.

But those in the trenches know specifics of who is making how much, and they’re trying to use that information to their advantage.

Two such examples surfaced in the past week.

After losing a non-conference game to Mississippi State, Southern Mississippi coach Charles Huff (a former James Franklin assistant) said this: “They spent $15 million on their O-line and D-line. In the second half, they should get a return on their investment. We’re built pretty good, but we’re not built for that league (SEC).”

The Oregon-Oklahoma State lead-up saw the coaches trading barbs.

Oke State coach/loose cannon Mike Gundy – you remember him for his infamous “I’m a man! I’m 40” rant at some student reporter (already 18 years ago) – accused Oregon of spending $40 million on its roster.

Gundy contrasted that to the Cowboys, saying his team spent “around $7 million” over the past three years.

“I think Oregon spent close to 40 (million) last year alone,” Gundy said. “So, that was just one year. Now, I might be off a few million.”

Ducks coach Dan Lanning fired back, saying, “If you want to be a Top-10 team in college football, you better be invested in winning. We spend to win. Some people save to have an excuse for why they don’t.”

Gundy also suggested teams’ budgets should dictate which teams are scheduled for non-conference games.

I wonder what he thinks of Penn State playing Nevada, FIU and Delaware.

Meanwhile, staying on the money theme, the most significant news out of PSU this week was a report the school is considering a switch to Adidas for its merchandise.

Penn State has been bedfellows with Nike for more than 30 years as Joe Paterno enjoyed a good relationship with Nike CEO Phil Knight, who named a building after JoePa at the company headquarters in Oregon.

Adidas, though, is making a strong push into the college marketplace, and Penn State would represent a prime client.

Adidas recently committed a 10-year deal to Tennessee worth a reported $20 million annually.

NitpickinG

• Franklin made an interesting disclosure when he said backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer “played in the (Nevada) game better than he’s practiced, at times, in terms of he wasn’t holding on to the ball.” Considering the competition between Grunk and Jaxon Smolik was supposedly even, you have to wonder how that made Smolik feel.

• Riley Thompson losing the starting punting job to Gabe Nwosu is notable given he was a two-year starter and is second in PSU history behind Jordan Stout in career punting average (44.2). However, Thompson slipped from 45.8 in 2023 to 42.8 last year, was under 40 in four games and didn’t punt well in the playoff games.

• Franklin took the blame for the botched 2-point conversion vs. Nevada, up 36-3, saying, “it wasn’t executed or coached well.” He wanted to get the play on tape in order for future opponents to have to plan for it.

• CJF offered an interesting philosophy about penalties, saying, “I really focus on the pre-snap penalties and the post-whistle penalties, which to me, are focus penalties. The post-whistle penalties are selfish penalties where you’re getting unsportsmanlike conduct.”

• Though Tyler Warren is gone (Indianapolis Colts), the Lions still got six receptions out of the position in Week 1. Andrew Rappleyea returned from injury to catch three. Franklin said had Rapp been healthy in 2024, Luke Reynolds would have redshirted. And he believes Khalil Dinkins “is the most complete tight end in the country … Here we are again with three really good tight ends.” PSU is becoming Tight End U with Warren, Pat Freiermuth (Steelers), Mike Gesicki (Bengals), Brenton Strange (Jags) and Theo Johnson (Giants) already in the NFL.

Neil Rudel covers Penn State football and can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com. You can watch his TV program, “The NitWits,” at altoonamirror.com.