Has college football turned into the Wild West? With the relative unknowns surrounding name, image and likeness, it could be getting close.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin recently spoke with Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated where he discussed the current state of NIL and its impact on college football. Throughout this landscape change in the sport, Kiffin has been adamant that college football is now a "professional sport," and as a way to try and keep NIL under control, he advocates for a form of salary cap, similar to an NFL model.
Interestingly enough, Kiffin also suggested that Alabama quarterback Bryce Young should test the waters of the transfer portal to determine how much money he could get for his talents, whether it be for the Crimson Tide or elsewhere.
SI: Is there a solution to this?
LK: The thing that seems simple is there’s a cap. How are we not a professional sport? What is the difference? [Players] are making money. They can opt into free agency. We’re a professional sport, and they are professional players. Contracted employees without contracts. They can get out whenever they want. And how is it not being seen that, unless there are changes of rules around caps and contracts, how is every elite college player not at the end of their season [entering the portal]? … Let’s be realistic, in professional sports, if you are the agent of a player, and the player can opt into free agency and come back to where they want after testing the waters, who says, ‘No, I’m not going to do that,’ unless there’s a penalty?
Why did Bryce Young not go into the portal? If you are advising Bryce Young, why do you not go into the portal and walk into Nick Saban’s office and say, ‘Hey, I want to be here, but I’ve got to protect myself so I’m going to go into the portal. And I want to come back as long as it’s matched with what I get out there.’ The kid would make 10 times what he would have made. How’s that not going to happen all the time? It should. It will.
Kiffin has also been vocal on Twitter concerning the public spat between Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama head coach Nick Saban concerning NIL. This new age of college football will impact different programs in different ways, but the Rebels' Kiffin has made his opinion known: the collegiate game is now professional, and it will likely continue to change.
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