Oregon State Hoops Coach Pays Big Buyout To Leave Over NIL Concerns

Oregon State basketball assistant Tim Shelton is paying $50,000 to leave the program for another opportunity, tentatively at Colorado State. It comes as a huge surprise.

Tim’s father, the late Lonnie Shelton, is one of the best basketball players in Beavers history and went on to play a decade in the NBA.

There is a family tie to the program that Tim joined in May of 2022 and he loved every minute.

My experience was great, from the minute I got here. I thought it was a perfect fit, and it still feels that way, from a locker room and an office standpoint. If you watched practice every single day, you would see the growth, you’d see the intention […] Coach (Wayne Tinkle) allowed me to do a lot. It was great. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

— Tim Shelton, via Oregon Live

Shelton signed a two-year contract with Oregon State worth $205,008 per year. He must now pay $50,000 back to the program to take a job at another school.

Shelton loved his experience with the Beavers and is paying a 25% (ish) of his salary to leave before his contract is up. So why is he leaving at all?

Money.

Time Shelton is leaving Oregon State because of money.

Just not his money. Name, Image and Likeness money. Or, rather, a lack thereof.

Shelton was the team’s third assistant on the Beavers staff and spent a lot of his time on the recruiting trail trying to get top talent to play in Corvallis. He felt as though he was at too great of a disadvantage.

Oregon State lacks NIL funs in terms of retention.

Getting the players on campus isn’t necessarily the issue, Shelton told The Oregonian. It’s keeping them on the roster for four years — even two years — once they’re there.

You’re trying to make yourself more aware of how to be a successful recruiter and how to retain your talent. My biggest fear is that the guys here don’t feel like we have enough resources to keep them […]

We didn’t get those kids because of money, but we need to be able to retain them.

— Tim Shelton, via Oregon Live

Shelton understands that Oregon State is never going to be able to compete with an Arizona, Washington or Oregon in terms of finances. He’s okay with that.

But we can’t be last in those resources. When it came down to my decision, I was worried about that.

— Tim Shelton, via Oregon Live

Although Shelton is leaving Corvallis for a program that he feels is better equipped in the NIL department, he does not think that the Beavers aren’t going to always be in this spot. He also has the awareness to recognize that it may not even be as bad as he is saying.

With that said, though, Shelton needs to be able to keep up and doesn’t feel as though that is possible…