Analyst sends mixed message on Colorado football NIL collective: 'Isn't big boy money, not weak either'

The 5430 Alliance, an NIL collective designed to support all CU athletics with a focus on Coach Prime's Colorado football program, is aiming to raise $8 million according to Blueprint Sports CEO Rob Sine. Blueprint Sports will be running the day-to-day operations of the 5430 alliance.

Mike Farrell (of the Mike Farrell Sports brand) doesn't believe that's a particularly high or low number, seeing it as a middling number in the Big 12.

"Everyone thinks $8 mill is chump change because of the false reporting on individual deals," Farrell prefaced before saying, "This isn’t big boy level money but it’s not weak either. Puts them mid to upper range in Big 12."

Sine believes the Buffs football team needs to double its budget from the 2023 season to 2024, CU's first in the Big 12, to be competitive.

“How do you begin to really monetize the activities and really engage fanbases around the country,” Sine prefaced before saying, “Football really has to double its NIL budget from last year to this year. Get basketball in a place where it’s competitive, especially in the Big 12. Those are the paramount benchmarks we’re going to have for the rest of the year."

Colorado football likely using NIL to land top-five recruiting classes every year under Coach Prime

Postgame CEO and Co-Founder Bill Jula, leader of an NIL-focused sports agency who represents Shedeur and Shilo Sanders and Travis Hunter, told me that the Buffs are likely using NIL to a good degree to land perennial top-five transfer portal classes since Coach Prime took over the program ahead of the 2023 season.

"...when you look at it, I would imagine 95% of those big-time guys who are moving in the portal are landing in places because of money," Jula said to me during our interview on January 31. "So I don't think he's just getting all of them on that great smile he's got. I think that there's definitely gotta be some pockets behind that. If he was ranked 25th or 30th on that transfer portal ranking, I'd say, 'Okay, maybe he is truly not an ATM,' but the fact that he's top five twice in a row now tells me he's doing something different."

Evidently, Coach Prime is no stranger to NIL. His possible spending power may be due for an increase, though, if The 5430 Alliance accomplishes his goals.