Former BYU Football Player Accuses Collective of Cutting NIL Funds Before School Signed $5M Hooper

Former BYU football player Crew Wakley was one of two ex-Cougars referenced in a recent Salt Lake Tribune article about the 2024 season. While the team finished with an 11-2 record and nearly made it to the Big 12 Championship, not everyone was satisfied with the situation.

Wakley and his teammate Isaiah Bagnah claim that the promises made regarding NIL payments were not kept. The school’s collective reportedly restructured its compensation plan prior to the start of the season.

In early January, Min Kim, the new leader of the Royal Blue Collective — the official NIL arm of BYU athletics — addressed the team to set a new tone.

“I’m not here to pay your rent or bills. I’m not here for any of that,” Kim told the team, as relayed by defensive end Isaiah Bagnah. “You guys are entitled, greedy, asking me for money.”

According to the players, NIL payments were drastically reduced leading up to the 2024 season. Bagnah claimed that payments to starters were cut by more than half, while walk-ons would receive nothing. Players were reportedly given an ultimatum – sign now, or receive no payment.

Crew Wakley also mentioned a non-compete clause in the agreement, preventing players from building their own brands if they didn’t align with the collective. He recalled teammates being terminated for signing deals outside of the collective.

The problems, players say, began before the January NIL discussions. In December 2023, the article mentions that payments were delayed until after the transfer portal closed, a detail that was not communicated to the team, according to Bagnah.

Normally, players would receive payments around the 15th of each month. However, at the end of the 2023 season, payments were delayed.

The collective made the December payments only after the transfer portal window closed at the end of the month, Bagnah reported. Some players speculated the delay was intentional, designed to encourage players to remain on the roster rather than leave and lose out on NIL compensation.

A month after the delayed payments, the collective announced the renegotiations. The reason for the cuts was said to be BYU’s 5-7 record from the previous year.

“I’m here to win. And you guys didn’t win last year,” Kim reportedly told the players.

BYU then signed top basketball recruit AJ Dybantsa a year after the NIL cuts were made. The No. 1 recruit committed to the Cougars in December and officially signed in February. His one-year contract is rumored to be worth over $4 million.

Dybantsa’s partnership will be one of the largest in college basketball next season. He joins a group of highly regarded players brought in since the arrival of new head coach Kevin Young.

Meanwhile, football players were supposedly told they could renegotiate their NIL deals in the fall after voicing concerns over the cuts in January. However, that did not occur.

When players raised their complaints, collective leaders assured them that renegotiations would happen after fall camp, according to Wakley. The safety was told that starters would see an increase in their pay, but that never materialized.

Football and basketball players have had very different experiences with the BYU NIL collective, though it remains unclear whether Dybantsa’s large deal had any influence on the renegotiation process. Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge reportedly offered a blank check to secure Dybantsa’s commitment. The football team does not appear to have the same level of investment from the donor base.

The players mentioned in the Salt Lake Tribune article have since left Provo. Isaiah Bagnah is preparing for the NFL, while Crew Wakley transferred to Purdue.