Iowa's Kirk Ferentz Frustrated With Modern College Football

"Six years of experience in the NFL, and a lot of things I don't miss about the NFL, but one of the things I miss is the clarity in terms of expectations and what the rules are," Ferentz said. "Basically, all 32 teams operate by the same set of rules. As we've evolved into revenue sharing, which I thought was a worthy and needed step, we're sitting in a quagmire. Just garbage."

Ferentz continued, "It's so cloudy, it frustrates me not knowing what's real. In the NFL, it's very clear, there's a ceiling and there's a basement, you have to be somewhere in between. There's no bull---- to it, and there's transparency, too."

Ferentz Discusses NIL and Each Team's Budget

"I don't know what's real. Quite frankly, I hear about what people's payrolls are, but nobody can document that or prove it. It's pretty evident that certain programs are bigger than others, and that's frustrating to me."

Ferentz discussed having "the right booster or two", but knows even that is risky as sometimes they try and get too involved. At the end of the day, he called it "fantasy football" to expect 100 plus to agree on a set of rules and have everyone operate by them.

The Future of Iowa Football

Hawkeyes fans have no reason to be concerned as Ferentz knows how to play the game. His NIL budget may not be as big as some of the top teams in the B1G or SEC, but that doesn't mean Iowa can't compete for a College Football Playoff appearance.

They have a marquee QB battle heading into the 2026 season and brought in a ton of quality players in the transfer portal. The main issue is that Iowa has always been solid but has never had enough to get to that next level, something Ferentz would love to change as his clock is ticking.