Army-Navy game is ‘pure college football’ amid NIL era, sponsor’s CEO says

NIL is hotter and heavier than ever, but there are two teams that cannot participate.

Of course, these schools are of the army and the Navy — as USAA CEO Wayne Peacock puts it, it’s a “one-way portal” to the academies.

We just saw Bryce Underwood flip his commitment from LSU to Michigan for seven figures, even potential #1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in AJ Dybantsa committed to BYU after receiving a 5 million offer from dollars in money NIL.

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An overview of the Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen helmets prior to the 122nd Army-Navy College Football Game between the Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen on Jan. 11 December 2021 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Obviously, academy players can’t go that route if they go into either the Army or the Navy. But with the 125th Army-Navy game set to kick off Saturday afternoon just outside the nation’s capital, Peacock says that’s what makes the annual event that much more special.

“The way I think about it, especially in this era of portal and NIL, this is pure college football. When these guys are on the field, they’re competing like they’re in battle, and they’re competing against each other. the other as if they were fighting.

FILE – Navy Midshipmen and Army Black Knights line up for a scrimmage during the first quarter of an NCAA football game at Gillette Stadium Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)

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“But what’s so special, after the game, they’ll come together, march down the respective ends of the stadium, sing each other’s alma mater and put on the uniform of the United States will defend our country, defend our freedom, and that to me is so spectacular about these individuals and about this game.”

“There’s only a one-way portal into the Army and Navy,” Peacock added. “But what they find are these student-athletes who want to play, but they also want to do something more than just play, and that to me is what makes it so special. But their ability to put competitive teams on the field in that environment . also talks about something we don’t talk about much, and that’s the power of teamwork and culture.”

USAA announced Friday that it will remain the sole sponsor of the game through the 2030 edition, a title it has held since 2009.

Army ranks 22nd in the nation with its 11-1 record, while The marina is outside looking, they are 8-3.

General view of the Army/Navy logo at midfield before the 122nd Army/Navy college football game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Knights on Dec. 11, 2021 at MetLife East Rutherford Stadium, NJ. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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The Black Knights have won six of the last eight meetings after the Midshipmen had taken home 16 of the previous 17.

Navy leads the all-time series, 62-55-7.

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