Penn State legend Michael Mauti takes shot at Jay Paterno, defends Penn State fans

This was likely in direct response to Penn State fans making public calls against the school’s NIL funding, which was largely sparked by Micah Shrewsberry’s statements in late 2022.

“It’s about what you want as a program and what you’re happy with,” Shrewsberry said. “If we have a little bit more that we’re offering to our guys, or that we’re doing for our team in NIL, that top 30 class is probably top 15 in the country. Just one or two more guys.

“I can’t speak for everybody, but I would say of 14 teams in the Big Ten, we’re probably 14. Maybe 13,” Shrewsberry said. “So it’s just about who we want to be as a program. What are we willing to say is going to be our standard?”

Jay Paterno’s words were not received kindly by Nittany Lion fans, or Penn State legend Michael Mauti, who publicly fired back at Paterno, stating that, “The response from dedicated alumni is the result of you and your cronies’ definition of ‘meeting every basketball’s NIL request.’ How can continue to spit this garbage? You continue to undermine the progress and efforts being made to genuinely align and unify PSU.”

He followed up by saying, “@PennStateAlums and @GoPSUsports community deserve the best. We need all hands on deck, not a few guys brokering behind closed doors using words without deeds. Your input on this matter is toxic and your relevancy has expired in this era of collegiate athletics.”

Jay Paterno is yet to respond, but so far, Mauti’s statements have been met with thunderous applause from the Penn State community.