Do not underestimate the annoncement by Nick Saban about his incoming freshman QB who has signed a 1 million dollar NIL contract.
Recruiting is the lifeblood of success (along with scheduling). It is not the coaching. Sure, a bad coach can kill a program all by himself, but a good coach cannot win a championship by himself. Saban knows this,
and so do other schools.
Many of the football schools are just now converting their booster and program support into NIL contracts to attract recruits. Ultimately, because money is fungible, the schools that have the giant TV contract money have a big advantage.
Thus, you see Ok and Tx making a bid for the SEC. If they don't get it there, they will talk to the B10 or maybe ACC.
It's all about being able to attract the kids to their program which means being able to keep up with the million dollar deals like Saban just announcecd.
NIL is thus going to drive further consolidation.