Dan Skipper: NFL International Games Are 'A Joke'

For the Detroit Lions, Dan Skipper is even bigger than his 6-foot-10 figure suggests.

He is a larger-than-life icon for the Lions during the Dan Campbell era. The swing tackle has become a fan favorite, as he and Taylor Decker became two players Detroit rallied behind during a controversial finish against Dallas in 2023.

On a recent appearance on 'The Coaches Pod,' Skipper discussed how much wear and tear football games bring, and the number of games that the players go through in a year. From 12 games in college with two bye weeks into 18 games with one bye, with the previous year making it as many as 24 games in a year. Skipper calling it “a lot of football” is putting it lightly. 

He addressed the NFL International games and the travel that entails, and it is clear the tackle is not a big fan. Immediately, he called it a joke and targeted the selection process, before outlining the issues that come with travel to a foreign country for an in-season game. 

“That’s a joke. ‘Oh, we want to go play in ‘name-X country,’ throw dart at the map.’ Like, what?” Skipper vented. “They (the NFL) understand the logistics of this, right? We have a travel party of 200-ish people. 50 of those are going to be putting their body through the most physically demanding thing you can do, but we are going to stuff you on a plane for 18 hours, screw up your body clock, take you to a country where the food is all (expletive) up, have you play now, fly you back, lose your bye week from the logistics of it.”

NIL, transfer portal is disaster for college football

Along with the safety of the NFL players, Skipper had thoughts on the new era of college football. Skipper was in the NFL before legislation passed to allow players to benefit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL), and he dove into the matters on the podcast.

Last season, Skipper revealed that in addition to a player’s name, college, and signing bonus, the part of knowing the new rookies involved discussion on what the new players made in NIL. He cited three to four players making $400-600k who did not even make the practice squad. He affirmed this statement later, saying that “guys are legitimately taking pay cuts, and not small ones, to play in the NFL.”

“I’m not a huge fan of the NIL and portal deal," Skipper explained. "It’s a disaster. It’s bad for the game. I think you’re killing the development of a lot of these kids. Maybe not football-wise, but certainly social-wise.”

The other fear that Skipper has is that the early wealth from players who do not succeed in achieving their NFL dreams can set them up with an improper idea on managing wealth. He even went as far as stating the extraordinary amounts of money that some players make would not bode well for him in college.

“You’re going from two million dollars at 19, 20 years old, and now you’re going to sell insurance. Are you really doing these kids a favor?” Skipper asked, rhetorically. “Obviously, it helps them get started out. I’m just curious how that will play out over the next 20 years of their life. I’m hoping these schools have institutions to help the kids out. I know having any sort of money wouldn’t do any sort of good for me (laughs).”

The other problem in Skipper’s eyes is the debate of a love for the game or a love of the money from the game. He went into his own love of football, from playing because he wants to hit into playing to succeed, with goals of making it onto the next level. The fear becomes if a player starts playing to get the next payday, instead of the next level of the game. 

“When you’re knee high to a grasshopper, you’re playing because you want to hit someone. That’s what it was for me," Skipper noted. "Then, it was that I want to play on Friday nights, I want to play varsity football. Then, I want to play on Saturdays. Get a couple of offers, I want to play in the SEC. All of these goals and dreams change.”