Pat Narduzzi's reaction to tiered payments to Pitt football players: 'You earn what you get'

Pat Narduzzi and Chris Bickell huddled regularly before Alliance 412 announced it will be put annual payments of more than $10,000 in the pockets of every Pitt scholarship player.

It’s a concept that would be foreign to coaches in the 57-year-old coach’s past. But he understands how the game is played in 2023. Even the tiered payments that will give some players more money than others don’t bother him.

“I tell our guys all the time: You earn what you get,” Narduzzi said Friday morning before practice. “You put it out there on the field. That’s why we come to work every day. You try to make the team better, make the university better, make your bank account better.

“Guys are going to have special deals, whether it’s Kenny Pickett or Calijah Kancey. They’ve had those in the past.”

It should be noted that players will perform promotional, entrepreneurial and/or charitable work in the community in conjunction with the money they receive. Oakland Originals, a marketing arm of Alliance 412, will give players an opportunity to build their brand through those ventures.

Narduzzi said he told Bickell — “A good friend,” the coach said — he wanted the payments that total at least $1 million to go to every scholarship player.

“To me, it’s about we-we. That sign over there (on the concrete sidewalk outside Pitt’s weight room), it’s we not me,” he said. “It bothered me when some guys had it (and others did not). You see locker rooms torn across the country when someone is making all this and then you bring a freshman class in making whatever. You have guys starting on your team not making anything. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

“Everybody needs to be together. We have to make it the same, as much as we can. Again, I can’t control the money, but it’s a team thing. Chris Bickell knows that’s kind of what we wanted.”

The reality of big-time college athletics is that Pitt needed something to compete for recruits, whether they’re coming from high school or the transfer portal.

“Everybody’s got something in place, but I don’t know if anybody’s got a team-wide deal,” Narduzzi said.

Much of the money will come from Bickell, who made a separate $20 million donation to the Pitt football program two years ago. But Alliance 412, the collective Bickell founded and is supporting players in name, image and likeness deals, is always seeking new donors.

“He’s taking care of our guys. Can’t thank him enough for everything he does for this program,” Narduzzi said. “It took us a while to get to where we are, but we did it the right way — or he did it the right way — and got it done.

“The kids weren’t getting what they should get.”

While Narduzzi and athletic director Heather Lyke have thrown their total support behind NIL, the coach still hopes to see one tweak.

“I said a couple weeks ago, we still need a salary cap,” Narduzzi said. “Everybody has to be working from the same game plan, period. The salary cap is at the top. I think it has to be that way.”

Meanwhile, three players who met with reporters Friday after practice had different views on the largesse coming their way.

Wide receiver Daejon Reynolds, a redshirt sophomore who transferred from Florida this year, said he was not anticipating receiving such a gift while he was in the portal, contemplating where he would spend the remainder of his collegiate career. “I don’t think NIL had an impact on me coming here.”

That said, he added, “I’m very grateful.”

Redshirt freshman defensive end Sam Okunlola said he was “somewhat” surprised by the announcement. But he has other goals in mind this season.

“I just play football. I really don’t care too much about the money,” he said. “I just love playing football.”

Then, there’s senior offensive tackle Jason Collier, a 22-year-old who has given NIL much thought.

“It was nice, I will say,” Colllier said. “Obviously, everyone has their own individual deals that help out everyone in different ways. (Players) were talking about it. This is not going to be something where we say, ‘We need. We need. We need.’ This is to give back to the community, give back to the public.”

His plans for the money?

“I’m going to save it up,” he said. “Later down the road, I can, at least, have something coming out of college.”