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Here we go, it’s contract negotiation time in college football as the regular season is winding down and the transfer portal is closer to opening. So what will it cost for a school to keep a star defensive player from shopping his skillet around? It’s becoming clearer for South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart. 

This has always been the path we were headed towards, especially with revenue sharing becoming an in-house business transaction between players and their school of choice. But in the meantime, you still need a collective and the school to agree on a deal with the star player to prevent him from potentially leaving. 

For South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart, it was time for the Gamecocks to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere after the 2024 season. This brings us to the report that was published on Thursday morning by The State, who says The Garnet Trust, the school’s collective, has been in negotiations with Dylan Stewart for his next big payday. 

It should come as no surprise to the folks that have been following this transaction-based era of college sports that the amount of money players of Stewart’s caliber are going to be making over $1 million per year, and that’s not even the QB position. 

Heading into this weekend’s game against Vanderbilt, Dylan Stewart leads all freshman in college football with 5.5 sacks, and have been an absolute monster coming off the edge. One of the biggest gets for head coach Shane Beamer and this South Carolina staff, Stewart has been the difference maker needed for the defense. 

But, he also brings star-power, which a school can market and put on commercials, or, most importantly, social media.  

After reportedly making less than $500K this season, which is obviously a steal, but that’s what comes with a first-year contract, it’s time for Stewart to receive his pay bump. Even though negotiations on are ongoing, The State is reporting that a deal is expected to be signed before year’s end. 

The problem with waiting until that long is the unknowns from other schools around the country. There have already been other schools that have quietly reached out about retaining his services next season, which obviously leads to a bidding war. But if Stewart is comfortable with where he’s at, and by all accounts he loves the coaching staff at South Carolina, then it shouldn’t be much of a worry. 

But there will be others continuing to call, and The Garnet Trust, along with the coaching staff, are gonna have to play their own kind of defense to keep Stewart from at least looking around once the regular season ends. 

If you’re new to all this, then welcome to the party. For the folks that have seen the rise of NIL over the past four years, this is just another day at the office.