LSU recently received a commitment from AJ Haulcy, one of the top players in the college football transfer portal. The highly-touted safety supposedly did not receive the highest-paid NIL deal in school history.
However, the timing and circumstances of his commitment allude to a rather lucrative financial agreement.
Haulcy began his college football career as a three-star recruit at New Mexico. A breakout freshman year led him to enter the transfer portal in search of a bigger opportunity and he ultimately landed at Houston. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound safety made 97 tackles as a sophomore in 2023. He finished with 74 tackles, seven pass deflections and five picks as a First-Team All-Big-12 player in 2024.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, Haulcy’s dominant junior season pushed him back into the transfer portal in search of an even bigger opportunity on the “power conference” level— and, in turn, more money.
LSU, Ole Miss, SMU and Miami were the top suitors for AJ Haulcy over the last few weeks. The Hurricanes gave him the Cam Ward treatment on his visit and brought him to dinner with Rick Ross at one of the most expensive restaurants in the 305 behind a literal police escort. The Rebels and Mustangs put on a full-court press of their own. The Tigers ultimately received his commitment.
According to Pete Nakos of On3, Haulcy’s representation set an asking price of at least $1 million on a one-year deal for his final season of eligibility. Here is where things get murky.
How much money is AJ Haulcy getting paid at LSU?!
NIL numbers are not typically made public. We, for the most part, do not know how much money a specific athlete is getting paid. Neither the athlete nor the school are required to report financial agreements. That applies to AJ Haulcy and LSU. Exact details of their agreement are unknown.
However, Preston Guy of TigerBait.com spoke with a source who said the NIL deal was “fair and modest.” Playing time was not guaranteed.
Reading between the lines it appears, to me Haulcy wanted to come in and prove he could do it at a major SEC school.
— Preston Guy
By that account, it sounds like Haulcy chose to play for Brian Kelly because of the culture in Baton Rouge. Money was an afterthought, even though he wanted to get paid $1 million. Hmmm…
The math ain’t mathing. And here’s the thing.
When I pressed Guy about what is considered “fair and modest” compared to his seven-figure ask, Guy confirmed that he does not have the exact numbers. He is going to “stick to the facts,” which — in his words — stem from “the opinion of the trusted source.”
So the “facts” of a “fair and modest” NIL deal are based entirely on the opinion of an unnamed source.
Guy was willing to confirm that Haulcy’s deal with the Tigers (through its collective) is “not the most lucrative LSU deal in history.” When I asked who received that specific deal and how much money it was/is worth, Guy deflected and did not answer.
My thought process is this: if we can figure out the details of the most lucrative deal in LSU history, we can then put a ballpark number on Haulcy. He (his agents) wanted no less than $1,000,000. If the most lucrative deal in program history was $2 million, then we can assume this latest signing comes with a price tag of $1-1.5 million. If the most lucrative deal in program history was $1 million, then we can assume AJ Haulcy is getting paid less than what he (his agents) asked.
And yet, the only information to come out of Baton Rouge is that the deal is “fair and modest” … Whatever that means…