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Former college punter Donald De La Haye, AKA Deestroying, has detailed the huge decision that faced him while he was playing back in 2017. Playing for UCF (University of Central Florida), De La Haye was also making money on the side from his YouTube channel.
Back then, that was a big no and the NCAA forced him to make a decision on which one he would pursue as he couldn't do both.
He spoke on Front Office Sports Today - Coyotes Left to Wander The Desert podcast. He detailed what exactly went down all those years ago in what was, at the time, a huge national story.
Deestroying said:
“So at the time, NIL wasn't a thing. We know the Golden Rule nowadays because athletes can make money off their name, image, and likeness. But back then there was no such thing. So I started creating content on YouTube while I was a college football kicker and my content started blowing up to the point where I could monetize my channel… and then our compliance officer at our university hit me up and said, ‘Hey, if you're monetizing your videos, we're gonna have an issue.'"
"They basically told me I have an ultimatum, either have to pick my YouTube channel and forfeit my eligibility or I picked my scholarship, donate all the money back that I made, delete my social media, and continued playing. So I mean, fast forward six years later, my channel is doing pretty well. So you could kind of tell what I picked.”
Deestroying's choice proved right
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and looking back on it now, Deestroying clearly made the right decision.
His YouTube channel now has over an incredible five million subscribers and we can only imagine the kind of money he is making off it.
With NIL deals now the norm for college football players, we can understand why Deestroying might have some hard feelings as the new NIL deals came a little too late for his football career. Had they been in place back then, we can only imagine the kinds of offers he would have received.
He has played for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL but has never played in the NFL. Had things been different back when he was in college, his empire might have been bigger than what it is today.
