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NIL frustrations mount as Rick Barnes discusses recruiting setbacks for Tennessee

This is the new landscape for college sports.
ByBraulio Perez|
Mar 30, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes reacts in the second half during the Midwest Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Mar 30, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes reacts in the second half during the Midwest Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

There have been several big-name transfers and recruits Tennessee basketball has been in on this offseason. The Vols landing Nate Ament continues to be news that's celebrated across the state. However, there have also been players UT has missed out on.

The list includes Rodney Rice, who seemed like he'd be a lock to play for Tennessee after his buddy Ja'Kobi Gillespie made that call. Rice picked USC, but he wasn't the only one who spurned the Vols in order to play for another team.

While Barnes didn't speak about Rice in particular, he did admit this week that there have been several players who have wanted to play for him, but one main thing prevented that from happening: NIL deals offering more money:

Rick Barnes opened up on NIL forcing him to miss out on top targets

"We have a limit we're going to," Barnes said. "It has happened this year. We've been involved with guys that truly wanted to come to the University of Tennessee, but they were looking for more money than we were able to provide because of us trying to build our roster the best we could."

This makes sense. Sometimes, it doesn't come down to Barnes and his staff not doing a good enough job recruiting a target and selling him on the kind of impact he can make with the program. Instead, it comes down to a different team putting a bigger bag in front of him. We get it, so does Barnes.

According to multiple reports, Rice ended up signing a $3 million NIL package to sign with the USC Trojans. This was a number that Barnes and Tennessee were never going to come close to. Can you blame Rice for taking that kind of dough? Absolutely not.

Rice and others were offered more money to not suit up in Knoxville and at the end of the day, no one can be upset with them over that. This is the new world we live in with college athletics. Barnes knows this is the direction things are going, but at the same time, he's still done a strong job landing playmakers this offseason and it's looking to be another strong campaign for the Vols in 2025-26 after an Elite Eight run this past March Madness.

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