Earlier this month, University of Texas supporters made national headlines when they announced a program through which every scholarship offensive lineman on the Longhorns roster would receive $50,000. Per year.

So, naturally, in the wake of the Big Beef Giveaway in Austin, Florida State fans were wondering what type of NIL deals were getting done for current and future Seminoles. Was there even a mechanism in place in Tallahassee for this brave new world of player empowerment and endorsement?

On Tuesday, we learned that indeed there was.

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That's when it was announced via press release -- not by Florida State (more on that in a moment) -- that there was an organization devoted to making sure FSU players are getting theirs in this interesting new landscape.

It's called Rising Spear, and it was started by two former members of the Executive Board of Directors of Seminole Boosters.

Bob Davis is the former Chairman of Seminole Boosters. Alan Flaumenhaft is the former Treasurer. They both stepped down from those respective roles to start this new endeavor this fall.

This news was released on Tuesday, but I wanted to know exactly how the whole thing works.

Which is why I called Davis on Thursday to get the backstory (and the forward story) of what Rising Spear actually is and how he expects it to work and expand.

"We kept questioning what's FSU doing," Davis said. "Who's doing this for FSU? And nobody really was. So, we said, 'Why not us?' I live in Tallahassee. Alan lives in Disney World, but we just started working on it. And we talked to the powers that be, everybody encouraged us and then immediately told us that they couldn't have anything to do with it if we formed this company.

"So, we resigned from the Board. And we get information any way we can about what's important to FSU. But I think we're having a pretty good impact."

Here's what's important to FSU: Winning football games. Lots of them.

And here's the best way to win football games: Get good players. Lots of them.

Rising Spear is trying to be a big part of that. It just can't have any official affiliation with Florida State University.

Even though Florida was the first state to adopt a law allowing NIL payments to players, it also is one of the most regulated. Therefore, an organization like Rising Spear can't strategize with head coach Mike Norvell or any other coaches at the university about where NIL money should go.

Davis said he actually had an early morning coffee date set with Norvell this fall, but he was informed the morning of, by another FSU administrator, that it wasn't allowed.

So it was canceled.

But that doesn't mean Rising Spear can't be a powerful force when it comes to FSU's NIL pursuits. It just can't be involved directly with Florida State officials.

Case in point: During the weekend of the Miami game, Rising Spear had advisers Derrick Brooks, Kez McCorvey and Peter Boulware talk to the recruits attending the game on its behalf. They explained the company's mission and how student-athletes can benefit from being in business with Rising Spear.

Mainly, and flatly, they can benefit by earning money.

Nothing is promised to recruits, Davis said. And nothing has been given to any recruits. But deals can be set up after they arrive on campus. And deals can be set up, and have been set up, for student-athletes already on campus.

Rising Spear has two separate options: The Gold Standard and the Garnet Standard.

The Gold works like this: Rising Spear talks to a big-money booster who owns a company or knows someone who owns a company. They ask if said company needs a sponsor, whether it be for social media, a meet-and-greet, an actual commercial, a special on-site appearance, and a fee is agreed upon.

"We've gotten a great reception," Davis said. "The people we ask want to be involved. But there are a lot of people that don't have companies."

Most of the people on earth, actually.

And for the non-company owners, there's the Garnet Standard. That's where anyone can donate money to a charitable cause. And no, the charity is not just making FSU's offensive line better. They are real charities. And the student-athletes who participate actually go and help a real charity, whether in Tallahassee or their own hometown. They are then compensated for their time.

"It won't be the $50,000 deals," Davis said. "But it will be the $500 or $1,000 deals."

He said the Garnet Standard is a "win-win-win," because the donor gets a tax write-off for donating to a charity, the player gets compensated financially for his or her time, and the charity gets a well-known, local athlete to show up on site and put in work or play with the kids or whatever the charity may be.

He said a great example of the Garnet Standard in already taking place. Rising Spear is setting up an avenue to sell national championship T-shirts for the FSU women's soccer team.

"And all of the profits go to the student-athletes," Davis said. "We like that sort of thing. And we want all 500 student-athletes to have a chance to benefit."

The more money raised by Rising Spear, the more chance there is for that to be a reality.

Obviously, the biggest money will go to football players, but everyone can be involved. Davis said he has had some athletes contact him already, and he knows more and more will be getting in touch, wanting to be a part of Rising Spear as it gets off the ground.

"Absolutely they can reach out to us," Davis said. "And some already have."

Plenty of donors and FSU fans have reached out to him as well, wanting to donate. But the organizers are always looking for more. He said the short-term plan is to have an easy-to-navigate website up and running here soon for that very purpose.

Right now, Risingspear.com is bare bones. But there is a contact number there if you want to reach out to Davis and get involved.

Because as he rightly points out, college football fans all across the country are getting involved with their favorite programs.

So why should Florida State be any different?

Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.

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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council