Dave Portnoy confirms talks with Sherrone Moore after viral NIL comments about Michigan's QB future

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy recently caused a stir when he suggested he was willing to spend $3 million on it ZERO to help with that Michigan Quarterback situation. Now he has confirmed that he has had discussions with the head coach Sherrone Moore about these viral comments.

Portnoy said that while he was concerned about getting too involved in NIL deals, he was willing to spend the money.

“My problem with the NIL is that it's a lot of money to just throw out the window, but I'm willing to do it happily,” Dave Portnoy said. “I don’t want to talk to other people. I don't want to – I'm not trying to get into the middle of zero, I don't want people I don't know calling me, I don't want to talk to this guy. I don't want any emails from this guy. I don't want any of it. I don’t want any of it.”

Sherrone Moore shared some information with Dave Portnoy about what the process would be like if he wanted to help and spend millions of dollars on Michigan's NIL operation.

“I had Daniella, my assistant, 'Someone in Michigan wants to -' no. I don’t want to talk to any of you,” Portnoy said. “I spoke to Sherrone. I spoke to him. I have his number, we talked. He told me the only guy I could talk to. A guy you can talk to, I haven't spoken to this person yet. I will, and then we’ll see.”

A major concern for Portnoy is that he does not want to work with the NIL collective in Michigan due to a business disagreement, although he did not comment specifically on the issue. Instead, he explained that he wants the relationship to be direct with the player.

“But I’m not going to be like – I said this, the collective. “There’s a company involved in the Michigan collective that I fucking hate,” Portnoy said. “And I had bad experiences with them with Barstool. I will never have anything to do with this company so they are almost out. So, I'll have to see. And I don't want any middlemen. I don't want any of it. I want the quarterback's cell phone number just because it's like we have to set a schedule for when we do our tasks at Barstool. That's it. So we’ll see.”

The quarterback position has become a problem for Michigan this season as Sherrone Moore has already replaced the team's starter Davis Warren To Alex Orji. The Wolverines haven't lost since that change, but Orji is averaging just 59 yards per game.

Because of these issues, Portnoy initially offered a $3 million NIL deal to get Moore and Michigan's desired transfer quarterback.

The zero value of transfer quarterbacks

According to On3's Pete Nakos, Portnoy's $3 million NIL figure would put the quarterback Michigan lands in the top five highest-rated NIL in the world On3 NIL 100.

“The going price for an elite transfer portal quarterback is $1 million, but that’s just the lower limit. “Several quarterbacks scored deals worth over $1 million per year from NIL collectives this past offseason,” said On3 NIL expert Pete Nakos. “Signing a quarterback for $3 million would be an outlier in the portal unless it is a multi-year deal and Portnoy is trying to land a top quarterback recruit.”

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry's leading index that determines the market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The On3 NIL Valuation, a proprietary algorithm, determines the total NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate for an athlete by measuring two categories: Roster value And ZERO.

The majority of dollars athletes earn is based on their roster value. Roster Value collects data from all school collectives, players and representatives using a proprietary roster management algorithm. The NIL value measures the licensing and sponsorship market based on social media presence and influence. Roster Value and NIL combine to create the On3 NIL overall rating.

To compare this to what Dave Portnoy has said he is willing to spend: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Texas quarterback Arch Manningare currently worth more than $3 million. Longhorns starter Quinn Ewers is just behind Manning with a valuation of $2.2 million. Then, Ohio State Transfer quarterback Will Howard is worth $1.3 million.

It remains to be seen whether Dave Portnoy negotiates a NIL deal for the next great Michigan quarterback. However, at the moment it seems to be on the table.