Lincoln Riley takes a shot at SEC while discussing the NIL era of college football

NIL and the transfer portal have seemingly evened out the competitive landscape of college football. 

That's something USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley recently alluded to while taking a veiled shot at the SEC in the process.

“Now there’s not just one part of the country paying players,” Riley told Colin Cowherd of "The Herd" earlier this week (h/t On3). “Everybody’s able to do it and it’s a great thing because I think it’s been able to create a more level playing field.”

NIL has evened out the college football landscape 

This era of college football has brought with it a ton of challenges. Players are suing the NCAA for extra years of eligibility, for example.

For as much wackiness as NIL has brought to college football, the evening out of the landscape has also brought some exciting parity. An example would be Indiana and head coach Curt Cignetti winning the national championship this past season.