Aaron Torres and Arnie Spanier talk to 5-Star Texas Tech recruit's agent Derrick Shelby, who negotiated the $5.1M deal for his client Felix Ojo. Shelby goes into how this unprecedented deal came to fruition and how the College Football world continues to change with NIL.
Derrick Shelby:
"We've been working on this deal for probably about 30 days, maybe 40 days total. Once he did his visit things ramped up pretty quickly. I thought Texas Tech would be a major contender as long as he liked the school. Of course, everybody was after him from Texas to Ohio State, Florida, Michigan. I think he ended up with probably 70 high major offers. I told him you need to go to Lubbock and see it. Because Lubbock had been calling me, Texas Tech had been calling me like, man we'd love to have a shot at Ojo. A lot of people don't realize I represent NiJaree Canady the All American Softball pitcher at Texas Tech. So I had a relationship there and they were calling me asking can the kid come out and at least see what we have. And we did just that. A lot of people don't realize Texas Tech just invested about $250 Million in their football facility. It's top three in America. Texas Tech was the second scholarship offer for Felix and they stuck with the recruiting.
Arnie Spanier:
"Was it that Texas Tech give you the most money? And did you have to say, hey, this is what it's going to take to get it done."
Derrick Shelby:
"The biggest offer ended up being Texas Tech, and we didn't start at the number we finished with. But going into this thing, my number one plan for Felix was to find the best place we can get to play early. And at his position, that's hard to get. That left tackle position, I mean that's the crown jewel right? So he wanted to play early but also be able to maximize his most earning potential at the same time. So I knew it would be hard to get both, but that's what we shot for".
Aaron Torres:
"One, as much as you can share, how often are these agreements beyond one year. But then two, I would have to assume there has to be some sort of language, because you know, god forbid the coach gets fired. I mean how does this work? I would have to assume there are opt outs. God forbid something happens."
Derrick Shelby:
"It's very far in between to get any type of multi year deal. Except no one wants to do that in football. They want a one year deal because it protects them. And what the football people will say, it also protects the kid. So lets say you're bringing a kid in and you give them $300,000 and he has a fantastic year. He can ask for more the following year. But in the same token, you get $300,000 and he gets hurt. Then he gets nothing the following year, so there's risk on both sides in my opinion. And when you sign with a school, you're not signing with the coach, you're signing with the school. So if a coach leaves, it doesn't really matter."