Cam Spencer made a shock move on Friday, entering the transfer portal. Given the importance of Spencer to Rutgers basketball last season, it was a surprise to see the guard ready to make a move.
And, former Rutgers basketball standout Geo Baker said that Spencer’s decision to leave came down to Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
In fact Baker, who now heads up an NIL collective the Knight Society, believes that Rutgers didn’t even get a chance to coordinate a match for Spencer’s new NIL deal. On Saturday morning, Baker took to Twitter where he provided a detailed and thorough breakdown of everything going on with Spencer leaving the program.
In his most poignant tweet, Baker outlined what he heard about the NIL situation with Spencer:
“It’s my understanding RU didn’t even get a chance to match the offer Cam was getting. Which, if true, means he didn’t really want to stay anyway. There’s nothing you can do about that. But that doesn’t mean RU basketball is screwed on the NIL front.”
Here are Baker’s relevant tweets as they outline what happened (and didn’t happen) with Spencer as well as what this means for Rutgers on the NIL front:
Losing Cam sucks. No other way to put it. Dude is a winner and a competitor. The way he left makes it sting even more for sure. But what does this mean for RU and NIL for the future?
— Geo Baker (@Geo_Baker_1) May 20, 2023
It’s my understanding RU didn’t even get a chance to match the offer Cam was getting. Which, if true, means he didn’t really want to stay anyway. There’s nothing you can do about that. But that doesn’t mean RU basketball is screwed on the NIL front.
— Geo Baker (@Geo_Baker_1) May 20, 2023
I’ve been in meetings everyday discussing Rutgers basketball and how we can create NIL opportunities for the team. I think they’ll be in a good place. But this situation should encourage everyone to get involved. The goal should be to avoid this from happening again.
— Geo Baker (@Geo_Baker_1) May 20, 2023
As a fan or business owner, think about what you would want. What you would spend money for. I’ve never been one to just ask for “donations.” If you want a meet and greet for your kids let’s set it up. If you want more eyes on your business let’s have student athletes promote it.
— Geo Baker (@Geo_Baker_1) May 20, 2023
This is what’s going to work at Rutgers. And overall, i think this pay for play slows down as the years go on. Continuously getting dollars from donors with no tax write off while giving nothing in return doesn’t seem like a good business model. Maybe I’m naive.
— Geo Baker (@Geo_Baker_1) May 20, 2023
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