Adrian Wojnarowski Talks NIL Challenges as St. Bonaventure GM, Cites 'Moneyball' Scene

Former NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski shocked the sports world in September 2024 when he retired as basketball's most famous news-breaker to become the general manager of the basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, but he is still facing challenges at his new job.

Many of those challenges will be familiar ones to college sports fans who have consistently seen headlines about the transfer portal and money from name, image and likeness opportunities impacting football and basketball in particular.

And smaller programs like St. Bonaventure are facing even more challenges than powerhouse ones with more resources available.

"The biggest thing for us in getting these deals done is we have to get value on every contract," Wojnarowski said, per Ben Portnoy of Sports Business Journal. "I have to get high-major players for mid-major money."

He compared his predicament to the one the Oakland Athletics faced under general manager Billy Beane both in reality and in Hollywood.

"I think about the Moneyball scene all the time with Brad Pitt [portraying Oakland A's GM Billy Beane], where he's sitting in the room and he says to the scouts, 'If we try to play with the Yankees in here, they're going to kill us out there,' or whatever that line was," Wojnarowski said. "I think about that every day."

Portnoy noted one way Wojnarowski is attempting to get around some of the challenges is through the use of Players Health, which is a sports tech company that provides insurance to sports organizations.

In essence, players receive more valuable deals than St. Bonaventure otherwise would have been able to offer through the use of the insurance company.

"Take a hypothetical starting point guard, for example: St. Bonaventure could write into his deal that he'd receive a $25,000 bonus if he earns all-conference honors," Portnoy wrote. "If he makes the team, Players Health pays out the bonus difference. If not, the company has already secured money from the Bonnies based on the premium paid on the front end."

The Bonnies men's team went 22-12 overall and 9-9 in Atlantic 10 play during the 2024-25 campaign. They landed the No. 8 seed in the conference tournament and lost to top-seeded VCU in their second game.

They qualified for the NIT but lost their first game to Kent State.

St. Bonaventure hasn't reached the NCAA men's tournament since the 2020-21 campaign, and Wojnarowski is facing something of a rebuilding process.

But he has a strategy if his latest comments are any indication.