Clark Lea explains how Vanderbilt football fell behind on NIL, what’s needed to catch up

Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea detailed Thursday how his team fell behind in NIL early in his coaching tenure.

While Lea finally saw increased investment in NIL prior to the 2024 season, that money was mostly used to add transfers.

“We still have not engaged in the paying of high school players, and we are behind because of it,” Lea said. “There’s not a world anymore that exists where that’s not a part of the equation.”

According to Lea, in 2023 the team had access to a “minuscule” amount of NIL. That amount was set to triple in the offseason, but then doubled again in the span of a week, allowing the Commodores to invest more heavily in transfers such as quarterbacks Nate Johnson and Diego Pavia, tight end Eli Stowers, offensive linemen Chase Mitchell and Steven Losoya, linebacker/safety Randon Fontenette and pass-rushers Zaylin Wood and Khordae Sydnor.