UNC football has hit a 'wall,' Mack Brown says. Can NIL push the Heels forward?

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

The changing landscape of big-time college football turns everyone – and that everyone includes one of the sport's winningest coaches, a national champion and a Hall of Fame inductee – into a program fundraiser.

Or, less charitably, a beggar for money.

North Carolina's Mack Brown joined the chorus Monday, calling on Tar Heel fans to back the program's name, image and likeness (NIL) collective to help his program retain, recruit and, ultimately, win more.

"I strongly believe that it'll have a massive impact on UNC football and help us get past that eight, nine wins that we've kind of hit the wall with," said Brown, whose team finished 9-5 in 2022 and 8-5 in 2023. "With the (12-team) college football playoff starting next year, it's a great time for us to take another major step and be a contender nationally."

Heels4Life, the program's collective, launched a $5-million fundraising campaign Monday, pushing to raise $1 million the next two weeks and $5 million for the year while increasing its membership to 5,000 fans.

The collective helped UNC hold onto star quarterback – and coveted transfer candidate – Drake Maye after the 2022 season. But it has relied on big donors for dollars, executive director Graham Boone said, and trailed others in garnering attention and publicity.

The "Hold the Line" campaign aims to counter both issues.

"We want everyone to know the urgency of the NIL Need for Carolina football right now," said Boone, a former NBA player agent who took over Heels4Life in August 2022. "And also let them know their donation, whether it's $25 a month or $100,000 a year, means something to everyone. We want it and we need it.

"We're trying to push this out to a larger group of the amazing Carolina fan base, not just alumni," Boone said. "There are so many fans that did not go to school here who would like an opportunity to get access to the university and have an investment in the product that they like to watch on Saturday. So this challenge to the entirety of the fan base is trying to democratize our football program."

Boone said the collective has paid out every dollar that has been contracted to athletes, a claim, he said, "very few" other collectives can make.

Need for NIL dollars

Brown, who has 282 wins in 35 seasons as a head coach, previously said that the lack of NIL funding impacted which transfers the Tar Heels could attract. He said Monday that program's recruiting hasn't been as good since the NCAA opened the door for name, image and likeness payments on July 1, 2021.

The idea that NIL would be used so players could be compensated for appearances or autographs or jersey sales quickly morphed into a recruiting and retention tool.

"It's something we all have to embrace," said Brown, who won the national title at Texas in 2005. "It's something that I'm asking our fans jump on board. Whether it's our websites, our grassroots fans, our season-ticket holders, our alumni association, all North Carolina fans need to align and get on board because it's here, it's real and it's fair. And our guys need to be treated to the same opportunities with NIL like everybody else in the country."

It remains against NCAA rules to induce recruits to school with NIL promises or contracts, The NCAA last week slapped Florida State with violations related to NIL inducement.

But NIL is certainly part of the pitch and players are aware of what awaits in that sphere if they enroll.

"If you're recruiting the right players and they know that there's going to be opportunities after they get here, then they're going to come legally," Brown said. "But if they aren't going to be in position where NIL takes proper care of them after they get here, then they're not going to come."

That also means taking care of current players. The portal goes both ways, and UNC has lost several starters in the portal over the last two seasons.

"You can't pay a guy in the transfer portal if you're not paying your guys in the locker room," Brown said. "What we've got to do is have a process in place like the NFL where a starter makes so much money and a backup would make this much and this position might make more than that. Everybody would understand that Drake would make more than some of our other players because of who he is.

"But if some other school is making three times as much as your guys – and they all know because they all talk – then they're not going to come."

'A fan tax'

It is the conferences that sign lucrative television rights contracts with networks. That money then gets passed to the schools in the league. And the schools spend it on scholarships and coaching salaries and services for athletes and facilities and administration and on and on.

North Carolina generated $140 million in athletic department revenue in 2022-23. NC State reported athletic department revenue of $105 million the same year.

But that money, as of now, cannot be used for NIL payments. Instead, the fans that already donate money to the athletic association and purchase season tickets and buy team merchandise and support their favorite college in a variety of ways are being tasked with paying the players, too.

"This is a fan tax," Boone said. "Without a change, the burden is being placed on fans to continue to make their programs competitive in this landscape."

The NCAA is considering a change where schools in a new top division can pay their own athletes. The courts are hearing challenges from athletes asking for this, too.

For now, however, it's on the fans. Coaches are becoming less shy about spelling it out directly to those supporters.

NC State football coach Dave Doeren used his post-game press conference after defeating UNC in November to call for Wolfpack fans to donate to collectives. The collective associated with its football program has been announcing current players and transfers (after they enroll) that have signed with the collective.

"We've had a lot of competitors who have done a great job at publicly advertising their campaign and their needs," Boone said. "We're trying to join those ranks."

As of Tuesday afternoon, the collective had raised more than $56,000. Boone said the actual number, which includes private donations and money given through membership websites, is higher.

"This campaign is an example of us listening to our fans, listening to the needs of the marketplace and giving everyone a very simple solution for how they can get involved," Boone said. "If they care about Carolina football, for the price of an entree out on a Friday night, we can make a huge difference."