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Patrick Mahomes leaving Kansas City? Steve Sarkisian: NCAA transfer portal madness would never be allowed in NFL

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Brian Davis | Last updated Dec 18, 2024 4:02 PM ET

Would NFL fans be OK with Patrick Mahomes just deciding on a whim to leave the Kansas City Chiefs for the Pittsburgh Steelers? During the season.

Or what if Nick Bosa got paid to leave the San Francisco 49ers for the Dallas Cowboys right before the NFC wild card round of the playoffs?

That’s part of Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s perfect analogy to describe college football’s transfer portal madness. If his suggestion ever came true, the NFL would figure out a way to fix the problem immediately.

And yet, college leaders are acting like nobody’s in charge. That's because nobody is.

“I don’t know how many teams go in the NFL playoffs. Eight, or something like that? Or 10? I don’t know how many get in,” Sarkisian said.

“Imagine every one of those players becoming free agents the day that they announce who’s in the playoffs,” the coach added. “And that’s what's happening in college football. Every quarterback is essentially a free agent right now, every O-lineman, every D-lineman, every running back, and then also our free agents are all the other teams that didn’t make the playoffs.”

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By all appearances, there are no rules at the moment. At least, there are no cops. College assistants are contacting players on other teams, enticing them to jump into the portal with hopes of a big payday.

College players have agents who are contacting national writers to tip them off about so-and-so going into the transfer portal. It’s the Wild West, at least until the portal window closes on Dec. 28.

Texas is not immune. Nine Longhorns have put their names into the transfer portal. Two are going to stay through the College Football Playoffs. And the Horns have already signed three newcomers to the roster for 2025.

All of this is happening while Texas (11-2) gets prepared to host Clemson (10-3) on Saturday in the first round of the CFP.

“For the teams that didn’t play in conference championship games or not playing in the College Football Playoffs, they can devote a lot more time to free agency when we’re devoting time to trying to win a championship, whether it’s a conference championship or a national championship.

“But I would just have it hard to think that the NFL would want Pat Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts all being free agents the day that the NFL playoffs begin. But that's the world we're living right now.”

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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