LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — While the group ‘Spartan Dawgs 4 Life’ pulled a majority of name, image, and likeness sponsorships from Michigan State Football players, General Manager for MSU Sports Sponsorships Otis Wiley claims it’s nothing serious.

NIL contracts are a formal way for student-athletes to earn income for their work. The group SD4L had provided sponsorships for nearly 40 players on the football team and now, fewer than five players have a deal and are getting paid while the rest are “on pause” until further notice.

Officials at SD4L released a statement and said they decided to reduce their advertising budget with “select student-athletes in an effort to build a sustainable NIL model for our programs.”

“SD4L has secured under 100 subscriptions to date, which falls significantly short of our projected growth models,” it said in a statement.

Wiley said the partnership model is still active, it just needs more “community support.”

“We’ve had other things happen that made people outside looking in think it’s being stopped, and that’s not the case,” the official for MSU sports sponsorships said. “It will resume once things are set in place.”

Meanwhile, many Spartan fans are questioning the timing of all of this. “People got to understand like this happens all of the time, not just here” Wiley added.