Bear Alexander deserved more of an investment than Isaiah Raikes

We don’t know if Isaiah Raikes asked for a larger NIL cut, but if he did, it was easy for Lincoln Riley to say no.

We don’t know for a fact that Isaiah Raikes asked for a bigger NIL bag from USC. Lincoln Riley declined to elaborate on the details connected to Raikes’ departure from USC football in the transfer portal, days after the Trojans retained Bear Alexander in a dramatic 48-hour sequence. We don’t know with certainty why players leave football programs. This stuff happens behind the scenes, and no one benefits from airing the deeper details of movements inside the locker room the public will never see.

However, while we don’t know exactly what happened, we can imagine what might have happened behind closed doors with Isaiah Raikes and other players who transfer out of a program shortly after coming in. This matter could be as simple as Raikes not being as good as he thought he was. It could be that clear-cut. If there was any friction, however, there’s a chance that Raikes might have angled for a bigger NIL bag.

If we play with this hypothetical, let’s just come out and say it: If Raikes did want a bigger NIL amount, he didn’t deserve it. More precisely, he didn’t deserve NIL at the same level Bear Alexander does. Bear Alexander turned in an actual season of great work for USC. Raikes hasn’t played a down for USC. If we’re comparing those players and any possible NIL investment the two players might deserve, Bear deserved it more than Raikes did.

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