After conversations with several more sources over the last couple days about this ordeal, here’s the long and short of what went down and why. I want to emphasize that I've pieced together effectively the same story from multiple sources on both sides, so this isn't as if I'm only sharing one interpretation of the narrative here. This is what I believe to be as close to the full truth as possible. I wanted to gather as many facts as possible before I spoke definitively on the matter, and I feel as though I've assembled enough information to present the rationale for what occurred. Without further ado...
— All of what has been reported, both here by us and on the Oklahoma Breakdown podcast by Gabe Ikard, is true as far as NIL is concerned. Green asked for a number and Oklahoma agreed to meet that number. In the end, NIL was at the root of the conflict. However, his departure wasn't entirely rooted in matters of money, and you'll see what I mean here shortly. Keep in mind that Green had substantial NIL offers as a recruit, and yet he chose Oklahoma anyway. Hear this quite clearly: if his primary objective as a college football player was to get paid, he never would have signed with Oklahoma in the first place.
— What hasn't been addressed in connection to this matter is the impact of Jeff Lebby's departure, which was actually quite consequential as far as NIL is concerned. As I have come to understand it, Lebby was the linchpin of Oklahoma's NIL dealings, and many of the negotiations/communications in that capacity ran through him. When he left to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State, it created a short-circuit in the channel of communication. Because Lebby had essentially been the central hub, the Sooners quickly had to figure out how to re-establish workflow with many players, recruits and families in conversations pertinent to NIL. That took time, especially given the fact that Lebby departed right as coaches had to hit the road to make in-home visits. And before I go any further, it ought to be firmly understood that in the here and now, everything IS in order as far as Oklahoma's NIL structure. That is not an issue that will linger. If you need evidence of that, I'll acknowledge that there were at least two 2024 commits that had been contemplating not signing next Wednesday. That consideration was due to knee-jerk concerns as to whether OU would honor the monetary promises they'd been made via Lebby. However, the Sooners have resolved all such issues with those commits, and their respective pledges to Oklahoma remain solid. So put to rest any concerns about OU having "money issues," whether in terms of sheer cash on hand or the willingness to shell it out.
— However, here's where Lebby's departure and the communication chasm came into play with Green. Over the course of the ongoing NIL conversations between Green and Oklahoma, the freshman offensive lineman was quoted different numbers by different individuals. That's because on the OU side, not everyone was operating on the same timetable as far as updates to the number. I'm going to do my best to explain this practically (and hopefully it is obvious that these aren't the actual numbers). Let's say Oklahoma's initial offer to Green was $20, and all 15 people involved in the discussions from the OU end knew at the outset they'd be giving him $20. Moreover, there was no real reason to think he wouldn't be content with $20. But Green came back and communicated to several of those folks (let's say 10 of the 15 people) that he would like $25 instead. At that point, those 10 people orchestrated the requisite budgetary concessions to get Green his $25. However, Green was informed that he'd get his $25 before the other 5 people got the memo that the number was going up. So as those other 5 people communicated with Green, they briefly continued to cite $20 as the figure he'd be paid.
— In essence, despite the fact that OU ultimately made it clear and unambiguous to the Green family that they would receive the higher of the two numbers (and put it in writing, at that), the Greens decided they couldn't trust Oklahoma to approach NIL negotiations in good faith going forward. It seems they saw the misunderstanding over the dollar amount as a deliberate attempt to try and get a bargain price on Cayden. Their collective mind was all but made up at that point. Despite the fact that the miscommunication was obviously somewhat trivial and quickly clarified, the Greens made the decision to walk away.
— I am told Oregon and Missouri were the two schools that were most ready to pounce when Green's plans to enter the portal became public, and that should come as no particular surprise (in fact, as I'm writing this, Green has now announced visits to both schools). Missouri recruited him heavily out of high school and has multiple ex-teammates of Green enrolled or committed there, and Dan Lanning is a Kansas City native who is deeply entrenched with just about everyone in Green's hometown of Lee's Summit. However, to the best of my knowledge, Green did not enter the portal with the express intention to transfer to either school. I know firsthand that numerous other Power 5 staffs have the intention of pursuing Green, which wouldn't be the case if a backdoor deal had been struck preemptively. When tampering occurs, it's no real secret to most anyone in the coaching community. Word travels fast in a small world. And because there's really nothing that can be done to curtail tampering in this day and age, most everyone can only stand by and let it happen.
— As for the narrative that Dillon Gabriel served as a middleman to help Oregon induce Green to enter the portal, it needs to die and to die quickly. I can't sit here and tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Gabriel hasn't communicated with Green this week. I don't know that to be the case, and after all, the two were teammates as recently as a matter of days ago. What I do know is that if Oregon felt they needed to get a jump start on recruiting Green, they wouldn't have had to go through Gabriel due to Lanning's connections within Green's home community in the KC area (for instance, he and Jamar Mozee, Green's high school coach, have been friends for over a decade). Throughout my conversations, numerous sources have reaffirmed that two individuals in particular — Gabriel and Bill Bedenbaugh — are not culpable in this matter and don't deserve the chastisement they have faced in the public eye. There were a few sources outright pissed last night that Gabriel's name had been dragged through the mud amidst it all.
— At the end of the day, I'm not sure what else OU could have done here. This sounds and seems like something that ought not to have resulted in a portal divorce, but here we are. What Oklahoma saw as a minor breakdown in the flow of communication, the Greens saw as deception. They felt as though they could no longer trust OU, but another source told me that it felt like they were "searching for reasons." The perpetual mystery is why there wasn't a willingness on the Green family's part to hash things out with the Sooner staff, and to lend them the benefit of the doubt with regard to the misunderstanding.
— Regardless, Green won't be returning to Oklahoma, and all of this will go down as one of the most bizarre sagas of the young NIL era in Norman.
