Penn State Wrestling and Oklahoma State Are in an NIL Arms Race!

Penn State wrestling and Oklahoma State wrestling are now at the center of college wrestling’s biggest spending and development race. Cael Sanderson’s Penn State program remains the standard, but David Taylor is quickly building Oklahoma State into the most serious challenger with major investment, recruiting momentum, and the Cowboy RTC. On this crossover episode, Zach Seyko and Cody Stovall break down Penn State’s reported wrestling expenses, Oklahoma State’s jump under David Taylor, the missing NIL context, Iowa’s possible NIL spending, and why RTC investment matters so much. The episode also previews Final X matchups involving Marcus Blaze vs. Jax Forrest, Zahid Valencia vs. Kyle Dake, Luke Lilledahl vs. Spencer Lee, Zane Retherford, Levi Haines, Kyle Snyder, Wyatt Hendrickson, and more. This matters because Penn State’s NCAA title path is no longer just about lineup strength. It is also about NIL, RTC depth, recruiting, senior-level development, and whether Oklahoma State can close the gap faster than expected. Penn State wrestling fans: who is the bigger long-term threat to Cael Sanderson’s dynasty — Oklahoma State, Iowa, or someone else? Photo credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Become an every-dayer! Subscribe to Locked On Nittany Lions on YouTube:    / @lockedonnittanylions   Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everyday... Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LONittanyLions... Locked On College Conferences, HBCU, Basketball & More 🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnCollege Follow the show on X! https://x.com/LockedOnNittany https://x.com/zach_seyko #lockedonnittanylions #pennstate #nittanylions #pennstatewrestling #collegewrestling #bigtenwrestling #ncaawrestling #lockedon #weare #wrestling #wrestlingnews #wrestlingpodcast 0:00 Intro 0:45 Penn State and Oklahoma State Spending Gap 1:53 Why David Taylor Changed Oklahoma State’s Trajectory 3:44 Penn State’s Wrestling Budget and NIL Context 6:04 Is Oklahoma State Spending More Than Reported? 7:29 Iowa, NIL, and the Bo Bassett Effect 8:56 Virginia Tech and the Next Wave of Wrestling Spenders 9:45 Final X Preview: NLWC vs. Cowboy RTC 11:44 Marcus Blaze vs. Jax Forrest Breakdown 15:12 Why Blaze vs. Forrest Is a True Toss-Up 16:33 Future NCAA Bracket Stakes at 133 Pounds 18:09 Will Jax Forrest Stay at 133? 18:44 Marcus Blaze, Masanosuke Ono, and Penn State’s Lineup 20:04 Kyle Dake vs. Zahid Valencia Preview 22:24 Luke Lilledahl vs. Spencer Lee Prediction 23:49 Marcus Blaze vs. Jax Forrest Prediction 24:47 Bo Bassett vs. Real Woods Discussion 25:23 Zain Retherford vs. Ridge Lovett Pick 26:06 David Carr vs. James Green Pick 26:56 Levi Haines vs. Chance Marsteller Pick 27:43 Kyle Snyder vs. Stephen Buchanan Pick 28:19 Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Mason Parris Pick 29:29 Final Thoughts on Penn State and Oklahoma State Wrestling