“Don't know how these deals are getting approved”: Insider left confused after hearing $7M NIL deal for 5-star TE Mark Bowman

Bobby Burton believes the USC Trojans may have offered too much to Mark Bowman for his freshman year. The tight end committed to the team on Friday after rejecting offers from the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs. 247Sports has rated the tight end as a five-star prospect.

On Saturday's episode of On Texas Football, Burton and his co-host, CJ Vogel, reacted to Bowman's commitment to the Trojans. They shared that USC is rumored to have signed him for a $7 million NIL deal for over three years.

"The word we're hearing for Mark Bowman, just behind the scenes, we cannot say this is unequivocally the right number, but we're hearing $7 million over a three-year deal for a tight end that has not played a snap of college football," Burton said (Timestamp: 3:04).

Burton questioned the team's decision, as the tight end hasn't yet proven he can perform at the college football level. He also pointed out that the potential college sports commission created by U.S. President Donald Trump could affect the deal.

"Now, he may end up being the greatest thing since sliced bread, but CJ, I don't know how these deals are getting approved for multi-years when we don't know exactly what the landscape for NIL is going to look like," Burton said (Timestamp: 3:21). "If there's going to be essentially a third party that has to approve these large-dollar NIL deals, how are they going to follow through on these promises down the stretch?"

The President has paused moving forward on starting a college sports commission. However, Burton noted that teams are continuing to offer multi-year NIL deals despite the uncertainty on whether Trump will seek changes to student-athletes' compensation.

USC is hoping that Trump's decision won't alter their deal with the tight end, as they want to keep the five-star prospect committed for the 2026 season.

Mark Bowman's potential with the USC Trojans

Bowman could be a valuable addition to the USC offense next year. He will complete his senior year with the Mater Dei High School Monarchs before he transitions to college football. According to MaxPreps, he had 32 receptions for 435 yards and eight touchdowns last year.

USC has three freshman tight ends on the roster for the 2025 season, including four-star recruit Walter Matthews. The Mater Dei star will compete for a spot in the rotation next year and has demonstrated at the high school level that he is capable of being a key receiving option.