So you are saying that serious money could be offered to Augie to stay at State to have an easier schedule, an education, and be The Man on Campus for another 2 years. Why sign an ELC to be in the back of the pack for the Wings and possibly sent to Toledo first?
- HenryHockey
Where Augustine has a massive advantage would be in a bidding war between schools. U of M was able to get a quarterback to decommit from LSU by paying him 10.5m (LSU was offering 1.5) for a kid still in high school. The teams that can put together the deals can put anything on the table and now athletes can transfer and play immediately (instead of the 1 year wait that used to exist). The NHL needs to negotiated an NCAA modified ELC but the NCAA won’t allow it so far. This would let the teams pay the player an annual bonus (break up the ELC bonus over 4 years, etc).
When I spoke to Alex Cotton, the kids that are over in Europe are talking about this as well. The NHL is in tough because of the rights clock, whereas the football programs are kids who haven’t been drafted. That player who went to Miami was paid more than he’d make in his first NFL year to go. The agents and NIL agencies know how to find the exact number. For Augustine, let’s say he’s guaranteed a slot in the AHL, they just have to beat 100k. Jr players who aren’t yet on ELC can now transfer into division I schools so you can see the wheels turning as they did in football and basketball. Hoping Augustine wants to be in the AHL, maybe get the kid a promotional deal