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Kirby Smart Gives Blunt Verdict On NIL After Uncovering Its Potential Consequences

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By J.C. Shelton | Last updated May 15, 2025 5:52 PM ET

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart addressed the chaotic state of the NIL space in college athletics as efforts to create a sustainable model have yet to make a difference.

College football coaches around the country have used the term "unsustainable" when talking about name, image and likeness dealings. The ruleless nature of the NIL world appears to be causing some concern for the future of the sport and collegiate athletics as a whole.

A lot has been made about the potential for Congress to enact legislation and create guidelines. But, from Smart's influential viewpoint, he hasn't seen any significant change to date as those conversations continue.

“Very little has happened,” Smart said Wednesday on "The Paul Finebaum Show." “It just shows you how hard it is to make changes and correct things, probably when they’re needed, because … people have talked about Congress. That’s not easy. Not a lot gets done quickly there."

Smart's comments come on the heels of the Bulldogs losing out on five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, who reportedly took Miami's lucrative NIL offer and committed to the Hurricanes.

All things considered, Smart appears to have no issue with players being compensated for play. But that model, as it stands, isn't sustainable.

"And where we are right now – I think every coach agrees we’re in a good place with being able to compensate players," he said. "Call it pay for play, call it NIL, I don’t care what you call it. We’re all in a good place for that. We just want it to be in a way that’s sustainable."

Smart isn't just thinking about football, as the future of non-revenue sports could be impacted by the increasing demands on the NIL front.

"I just want to be able to have a freshman come in and not make more than a senior and I’d like for other sports to be able to still survive," Smart continued. "You know, we’re on the brink of probably one to two years away from a lot of schools cutting sports. What’s the pushback going to be then when you start cutting non-revenue sports? I don’t want that to happen.”

It remains to be seen if Congress will be able to step in an create some guidelines to smooth out the NIL process. And that is likely Smart's point: there are far more questions than answers.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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