A statistical change the day after a 45-24 win over Washington State last Saturday turned a joint tackle-for-loss for Boise State defensive linemen Braxton Fely and Ahmed Hassanein into sack.
It also put another $35 into their pockets.
In the first year of a new pledge program done through the Horseshoe Collective, Boise State’s defensive line is racking up sacks – and now as a result, money.
Through a first-of-its-kind program, the Horseshoe Collective started taking donations over the summer for each sack recorded by the defensive line – with the money being distributed evenly to all 20 defensive linemen on the roster, scholarship or walk-on.
A group of former Boise State defensive linemen kicked off the campaign by pledging $600 per sack. Subsequent donations and pledges, which can still be made by emailing horseshoecollectiveintern@gmail.com, have brought the total to roughly $700 per sack.
Boise State’s defensive line already has 11.5 sacks this season.
“We were joking with each other after some of these sacks and we’re like ‘oh man it’s getting expensive,’” said former defensive lineman Sam McCaskill, who came up with the idea and spearheaded the effort with Joe Nickell from the Horseshoe Collective.
“A lot of defensive lineman are getting sacks and it’s like ‘holy cow the numbers are starting to get up there’, but it’s great and we’re all happy to give back to the cause. … You can’t deny how much energy and game changers those sacks were against Washington State.”
The arrangement is allowed within NCAA rules because all defensive linemen on the roster split the money evenly, regardless of stats or playing time, and because it has an NIL component.
The minimum $700 in per-sack pledges means any sack by a defensive linemen this season is worth at least $35 for each of the 20 players in that group.
“I sit there on the sidelines (after a sack) and I see the former defensive linemen and I look at them like ‘Hey, that NIL is coming after the season,’” defensive end Ahmed Hassanein said with a laugh as he made the money sign with his hands.
Said McCaskill of Hassanein taunting the former players playfully about the money, “As he should. I love it.”
Boise State’s defense leads the nation with 20 sacks this season. The defensive line has accounted for 11.5 of those sacks, meaning each of the 20 members of the group have already earned more than $400 each.
“The defensive line no doubt answered the call,” McCaskill said. “It couldn’t have been a better year to start the fund.”
Final donations and pledges will be tallied after the season and the money will be distributed evenly to players after they participate in an NIL community service event with the Idaho Foodbank alongside former players and anyone who donated to the program.
Hassanein leads the group with 4.0 sacks, while Fely and Jayden Virgin-Morgan each have 2.5. Sheldon Newton and Herbert Gums each have one sack and Max Stage has a half-sack.
That means six different defensive linemen have already helped contribute to the total through four games.
“Everybody is eating,” Hassanein said. “Everybody is on point. Everybody is getting sacks and celebrating with one another. It means a lot.
“I’m so happy for them and so proud for them. They put in so much work taking on double teams and doing so much work in the dark that nobody sees. For them to have the production they are having, I am so proud of them.”
McCaskill is hopeful the concept can be used for other position groups in the future. Defensive backs could do it for interceptions, quarterbacks for touchdowns, etc. Other sports could be added also including 3-pointers for basketball or home runs for the softball team.
It’s a unique way to legally award performance incentives in the form of money – which keeps current players happy and makes Boise State an attractive place for recruits.
“I’m really making a call to action to the fans, the public, the boosters, to all make donations and pledges for this because it’s fun. It feels like betting but it’s not,” McCaskill said.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who the realization is, if these guys perform really well they are going to start getting poached by other programs. This is showing the student-athletes the buy-in from the community and the support from former players and fans and it can be used as a recruiting tool.”
Helping the team win is certainly the main goal and focus when the defensive line takes the field this season. But they’ve got a little extra motivation now to try and get to the quarterback, and it seems to be working.
At their current sack pace, the defensive line would each earn more than $1,400 for the season.
Last week’s stat correction was a lucrative one. And the defensive line will take as many as they can get.
“I was excited,” Hassanein said with a smile. “All these half-sacks count, man.”
