There have been a few teams around college football struggling more than ever before. Of those teams include Florida State, a squad viewed as a national championship contender.

The Seminoles struggling a bit isn’t the most surprising thing. They had one of the best rosters in the country last year but lost multiple key players from that team to the NFL.

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei hasn’t played well, and it’s gotten to the point that many Florida State fans have screamed boos from the crowd and have asked for him to be benched.

Uiagalelei has never been elite, but he’s also never played this poorly. While there are other reasons for Florida State’s disappointing showing, he’s been a big part of that.

The boos led to Joe Rexrode of The Athletic to question whether it’s fair to do so to college players now because of NIL.

While the NCAA still tries to claim student-athletes as “amateurs” anyone who understands what’s going on with NIL knows they’re far from that. Calling them “amateurs” just helps save the NCAA in lawsuits and other legal matters.

But Rexrode’s question is a fair one, as many of the people in the stadium showing their displeasure are the same ones who help fund the team on the field.

In his column, he added that Florida State has a $12 million NIL budget, a massive collection of funds to use on players.

“This has been most apparent in 2024 at Florida State games, where quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has struggled and has heard a lot about it. The exact sum he got to transfer from Oregon State hasn’t been reported, but as one of several high-profile quarterbacks who partook in this sport’s annual free agency, it’s fair to say it was ample. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported an NIL team budget of about $12 million for the Seminoles this year, and with rare exceptions the quarterback’s pay will top every team’s list.”

Now 1-3 on the season, having $12 million to spread out among recruits and active players likely won’t make boosters too happy.

Some teams have struggled recently when they historically haven’t, but they likely aren’t working with an NIL budget above $10 million.

It’s easy to see why fans may boo, as that’s a way to let Florida State know they aren’t content with their play.

However, all that does is bring more pressure to Uiagalelei and the others on the roster.

No matter how much money they might make, these are still young adults.