NIL is just another change in "how" we compete for athletes. You (meaning MU) either join in and strive to win in that front, or you don't and you don't win on the field. This is new and now. And it will be a chore for MU to catch up and stay competitive in this realm.
I don't hope for it, or really want to see it, but this may very well be the element that drives college sports back to college sports, leaving that select group of college-sponsored, semi-pro programs separate from the rest of us.
Right or wrong, the greatest games are played against similar competition, no matter how great the players are. Would you be a Marshall fan if we were NAIA, NCAA DIII, etc.?
Those who lose the NIL battle will certainly be playing with kids who choose that school, and a free education, soon enough.