Eli Drinkwitz talks future Mizzou NIL plans, ‘reality’ of roster building
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Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz met with reporters on Tuesday and covered a number of topics as the Tigers prepare to face Oklahoma on the road this weekend.
Mizzou has taken a small step back this season as the Tigers already have 3 losses with a couple of regular season games to play. Drinkwitz’s focus is on building a sustainable winner in Columbia, and that means having an NIL budget to compete with the best programs in the country.
On Tuesday, Drinkwitz discussed what it would look like for Mizzou to increase its NIL footprint. He said Mizzou will be looking at partnering with Fortune500 companies that are based in the state of Missouri. Per Drinkwitz, Missouri has 11 Fortune500 companies, which is the fourth-most among SEC states.
“We’ve got to continue to develop the relationships with those companies and get those companies to invest in our athletes,” Drinkwitz said. “We need their support. We are the institution of this state. We provide those companies with a lot of workers. And so it would be awesome if we got to see some reciprocal investments.”
Drinkwitz emphasized that Mizzou will need to step up its NIL game in order to attract — and retain — key players for a roster that’s capable of competing for an SEC Championship.
“You want better results? You’ve got to get better players,” he added. “We’ve got great players right now, but you can always use more. In order to keep the current players we have … you’ve got to offer them the same amount of money that other people are. That’s the reality.”
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As Mizzou looks to have a better season in 2026, Drinkwitz said the “next jump” will be the most difficult so far.
“The next jump is going to be the hardest jump,” Drinkwitz said. “Going from good to great is the hardest jump possible.”
Here’s video of his comments from Tuesday’s press conference:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
