Purdue’s newest front office hire comes with strong ties to Barry Odom.
On Thursday, the Purdue athletics department announced the hiring of a new football operations general manager. Former college standout Brandon Lee will take over as the general manager of personnel for the Boilermakers.
Got our GM!
A former player under @Coach_Odom, who brings leadership experience in the world of NIL, Brandon Lee is the new General Manager of Purdue Football.#BoilerUp | @_BrandonLee4 pic.twitter.com/2lB3enbj9V
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) January 9, 2025
Lee, who played his college football at Missouri, was a leader in negotiating some of the first changes in NIL compensation for athletes as a player. He arrives in West Lafayette by way of Starkville, Mississippi, where he co-headed the Student-Athlete Brand Services & Business Development Team at Mississippi State.
As a player, Lee was a darn fine linebacker under Barry Odom, being a crucial part of the Tigers’ defense from 2015 to 2018. He averaged 39.3 tackles per season in his last three years of eligibility as a member of several very good defensive Mizzou teams.
Wait a second. That means he’s even younger than I am. If I wasn’t already sitting down, I’d need to sit down. He was a sophomore when I was a senior. Where does the time go?
Back to the sports.
Lee’s experience in the field of NIL is really the huge upside here. If he can help Purdue stay afloat talent-wise in this new era of general “how crap works with player personnel” in college football, he’ll be worth his weight in gold.
I am immediately realizing even this is a poor example, as his weight in gold would be about $6,000,000, and yeah, college teams need a lot more cash than that floating around these days.
Welcome to Boiler Nation, GM Lee, and Boiler Up!