Mick Cronin uses poker analogy to describe NIL era: ‘In the middle of the game, they changed the game’
When Mick Cronin took over at UCLA in 2019, the NIL era was still a couple years away. His recruiting pitch, of course, involved the program’s storied history while following in the footsteps of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , Bill Walton and Reggie Miller . Two years after his arrival, players got the ability to earn money through their name, image and likeness.
Cronin compared the landscape shift to sitting at a poker table when the dealer changed the rules mid-game. SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter Cronin acknowledged the issues facing college basketball as the NIL space continues to evolve, especially now that rev-share has arrived. However, his approach isn’t to talk at length about those problems.
Instead, he stressed the importance of adapting to the ever-changing space. “In this era, you can’t let the NIL stuff eat you alive,” Cronin said on The Field of 68 . “‘Why?
Why? They’ve got to fix it. ’ All that stuff.
Look, it is what it is. You sat down to play poker and, in the middle of the game, they changed the game. This is my analogy.