Just one day left for the NFL draft 2025, and Tom Brady‘s colleague has dropped a bombshell. The update came up after the analyst saw the top three reasons why NFL teams are rejecting draft prospects. The first two reasons he mentioned were cool, and everybody knows why college players get rejected by NFL teams. But you would be a little surprised to know the third reason.
Brady’s colleague at Fox Sports, Jay Glazer, who recently lost his father, has dropped a crazy update. The take he gave on the recent developments in the football world, especially CFB, describes how big NIL deals are ruining football talent. Jay Glazer took to Twitter/X and started, “Interesting things came up in my draft prep calls. For years, teams have pulled players off the board for A) injury concerns or B) character concerns.” We know their reasons, right? The injuries have always scared the hell out of players. But the third one?
The broadcaster also added, “A third category/reason has been added and most teams I talked to had guys off their board for: ‘Doesn’t love football.” And after revealing the 3rd reason, he just elaborated, saying, “This was the first year it was so prevalent. I asked around why that is, and the thought was that because of NIL money, guys have already been paid, and some feel they don’t need to grind to get paid. So the guys who ‘love football’ are probably appreciated more. Just an interesting tidbit to pass along.” College football gives young players huge money, sometimes equal to rookie NFL deals.
Interesting thing came up in my draft prep calls, for years teams have pulled players off the board for A) injury concerns or B) character concerns.
A third category/reason has been added and most teams I talked to had guys off their board for: “Doesn’t love football.” This was…
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) April 23, 2025
We have just witnessed an ugly skirmish between Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Volunteers. The player wanted to have an 8-million-dollar deal, but the Volunteers rejected their team member by moving on from him. The five-star QB Nico Iamaleava was then transferred to North Carolina. But the point here is how such big NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals are giving big contracts to college football players, which makes players complacent.
Colin Cowherd, in his recent podcast, argued that Nico Iamaleava is not responsible for causing chaos in the football world, but the NIL deals are. The money part of the NFL gives players the opportunity to showcase their talent to the world. But multi-million-dollar NIL checks keep players away from focusing on skills, and that’s why NFL teams are not showing interest in signing these players who keep money over grind.
I remember how NBA legend Charles Barkley once described this situation of complacency in his interview with Oprah Winfrey. What Barkley said in that interview was, he and Michael Jordan have earned what they have now. They worked hard every day to get the big deals. And after saying this, he just dropped a fact that the reason why current players are showing off great skills is because the NBA players also get massive deals at the start of their career, which keeps them away from grinding and toiling upward.
Alright. Maybe that’s what Tom Brady’s colleague Jay Glazer also wanted to say ahead of the NFL draft. But wait, it would not be fair if we categorize all college football players with NIL deals. There are top prospects who don’t even care about their NIL money but only care about working hard and commitment to outperform everyone. Let’s check the flip side of the above arguments.
NIL deals, flip side, and top prospects of the NFL draft 2025
There is actually a flip side to the ‘money vs grind’ discussion. Let’s take an example of Travis Hunter. This Colorado beast dominated college football last season and also won the Heisman trophy in 2024. He got $4 million worth of NIL deals for the season. But you know what he did with that money?
Deion Sanders Jr once revealed an inspiring thing about Hunter. “Did you know he receives no NIL (money) from the collective? Travis is one of the biggest donors to the collective, meaning he’s paying a lot of others’ NIL on this team. He’s paying at least 10-15 guys’ NIL on the team. He’s donating his own money.” Travis has helped his guys. So, we can’t just say it’s the NIL deal only that keeps players away from the grind.
But arguably, it’s the biggest reason behind players getting rejected by NFL teams. Hope this will change in the future as football should witness legendary players and not just big contracts. The game should win in the battle of money vs grind. And that’s what Tom Brady’s colleague pointed out.
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