Never forget... Jim Harbaugh was a driving force behind the implementation of the NIL program. 2018 - Proposed deferred compensation: Harbaugh explored creating a system in which players would receive deferred compensation funded through college- football revenue. He preferred that approach to immediately treating players as salaried employees, partly because he worried salaries could create tax complications. 2022 - Publicly endorsed NIL rights: Harbaugh stated that players should be able to profit from their name, image and likeness. However, he distinguished legitimate NIL compensation from using payments as recruiting “signing bonuses.” Maize n Brew August 2023 - Called for revenue sharing: Harbaugh opened a Michigan press conference with a nearly six-minute statement arguing that athletes should receive part of the revenue they help college sports generate. This went beyond ordinary endorsement-based NIL deals. November 2023 - Offered to take less money: Harbaugh said he would accept a smaller salary if that helped players receive a share of college-football revenue. January 2024 - Proposed a specific funding model: Before the national championship game, Harbaugh suggested taking roughly 5–10% from coaches’ and administrators’ salaries, along with a portion of television revenue, and placing it into a fund for college athletes. *The important distinction is that Harbaugh supported NIL rights, but his strongest advocacy was actually for something larger: direct revenue sharing between the college-sports industry and its athletes.