CLEMSON -- Transitioning into an offseason isn't what it used to be.
And the fact that the first day of Clemson's offseason was Dec. 22 only accentuates the difference.
Given the sum-of-all-fears defensive showing in the final 60 minutes of football for the 2024 team, many fans out there are eager for news of coaching changes.
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And we get the impulse.
But as best as we can tell, it might be a waste of time to be anxiously hitting refresh on your devices in the coming days.
The first order of business for Dabo Swinney and Clemson is roster retention.
Traditionalists out there might hold their noses upon reading this, but this is the time when deals are getting done.
Big deals.
And it's a big deal.
The current portal window closes Dec. 28, and our Paul Strelow has done a comprehensive job of covering the talent-procurement angle.
ALSO SEE: MONDAY INSIDER | Swinney begins assessing the body of work of his defense | A Clemson defense unfit for the moment | Clemson's verbal commitments
Last week gave us compelling evidence that Swinney and Clemson are committed to being players in the portal game.
Some folks dismissed the clamor over Clemson adding a former JUCO receiver from Southeast Missouri State.
But the addition of Will Heldt when Texas A&M was going after the Purdue defensive end with both barrels?
Yeah, that gets your attention. That's a change.
Because don't think for a second that culture alone was what attracted Heldt to Clemson. A major commitment of dollars was a big part of it, too.
To that end, Clemson has decided that money isn't going to be the reason it loses current big-ticket players.
As Tigerillustrated.com has chronicled, the athletics department is committing itself to the maximum $20.5 million allowed in revenue share that officially begins next summer. And football is going to get well over 80 percent of that, according to our information.
For the market in general, numbers are inflated in large part because the time between now and the summer is essentially non-capped. Thus schools are loading up NIL deals in a race to the finish line, and of course agents are doing agent things and driving up the supposed fair-market value of their clients.
But apart from that, there is a more authentic fair-market value brought by big-ticket players.
Twice over the last week Cade Klubnik was asked if he plans to return to Clemson next season and he elected not to comment.
Under the previous model this might've incited panic.
Under the current model, this is simply a high-profile quarterback smartly not saying anything because he (or his agent) is about to enter negotiations with Clemson.
Our bet: Of course Klubnik will be back in 2025. In part because Clemson is going to open the checkbook and pay him what he's earned.
Clemson fans spent much of last offseason wondering if Klubnik had the goods to give this offense and team what it needs.
Those questions only intensified after a 34-3 drubbing against then No. 1 Georgia in the opener when we saw what looked mostly like the same old, same old.
All that seems put to rest now. Klubnik is a transformative dual-threat presence who can put a team on his back, and he showed that two days ago against a defense that had been elite all year.
A couple years ago, a couple hundred thousand dollars seemed like a lot of money for college athletes to be making.
This is suddenly, startlingly, a different time.
A month or so ago we learned that Klubnik's revenue share in 2025 would be somewhere around $1.5 million.
You might say he has leverage for well more than that now.
If it weren't for Klubnik, Clemson wouldn't have been in position to cash a $4 million check when Nolan Hauser got his kicks on route 56.
Not long ago, Clemson balked at paying Bryce Davis a bunch of money because his asking price would've been more than Peter Woods' income.
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That type of thing won't be as much of a problem now, because Woods' pay is going to soar as part of revenue sharing.
Same for TJ Parker.
And yes, same for Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore after the two gave this offense the outside receiving threats that brought back memories of how they used to do it around here.
The list goes on, but we'll stop there.
We spend a lot of time talking about Swinney's cultural model and whether it can still have a place in this transactional, money-driven world.
Maybe we'll get a favorable answer on that when we compare Clemson's retention to others out there.
Including, say, Tennessee. The Vols' talent-acquisition model has been much more about the dollars, and that's not a criticism as much as a statement of fact.
There are pros and cons to that.
On Nov. 30 after a sickening loss to South Carolina, Swinney seemed to already be turning the page to the retention agenda.
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Fran Brown and Hauser brought a blissful delay to that phase.
But the season is now done.
And now is when deals get done.
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