In Reply to: I think the money issue posted by ej on May 31, 2025 at 16:23:47
Well said as usual, ej. Agree all the way. Go ahead and recruit them - especially if they are from or are very interested in the LA area and UCLA for the reason you mentioned - later interest in going into the portal and transferring back home to play.
But recruiting now requires a budget and a balance sheet - landing one five star means not being able to land other high level players - 4 stars - even some 3 stars these days. Think it was on that BRO interview of the head of Men of Westwood who noted that NIL costs increased about 30% this year from last year and even some pretty good players are getting upwards of a million buck each.
I agree with Fuzzy - as the core of your recruiting these days you need to focus on good (but not 5 star) prospects who will play for multiple years and develop and hit the transfer portal to top off your squad. You certainly recruit 5 stars, especially locals, but it must remain within your budget. The point is recruiting a team not just an individual.