Colin Cowherd calls out growing NIL imbalance in college football

During a recent segment on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Cowherd sparked discussion by drawing attention to what he sees as a growing imbalance in college football, caused by the controversial Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals. 

From Cowherd’s perspective, the NIL era has not leveled the playing field, but rather tilted things in favor of well-funded programs that can now dominate the recruiting landscape. 

“Texas is the most well-funded program right now in the country. They’ve got more money than anybody,” Cowherd said.

Cowherd pointed to a school like Texas, which has great donor backing and a massive alumni network, as an example of a program that can essentially buy its way into national recruiting battles by outspending other programs. 

While the NIL model was initially envisioned as a way to give student-athletes more control over their financial future, Cowherd believes it has now become a tool for wealthier programs to load their rosters with top-end recruits and transfers. 

He notes that this financial power has completely reshaped the recruiting process. Recruiting has become largely about who can offer the most attractive payment packages. 

“Alabama’s economy is not Texas’s economy. Go look up their GDP’s, gross domestic product, there’s a lot more money in Texas than Bama. And Nick Saban saw it and got out.” Cowherd stated.

This economic disparity, Cowherd argues, is the major deciding factor as to who wins recruiting battles. But it is not just about recruiting, either; it's about who will dominate college football for years to come. 

Programs like Texas, Ohio State, and recently, Texas Tech, have aggressively embraced NIL, whereas other schools struggle to keep up due to a lack of resources. Even Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian acknowledges the shift; however, he offers an interesting perspective on how NIL is used in recruiting.

“One of the first things we do… we don't talk about NIL or revenue sharing or publicity rights until the very end," Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days. "And that may hurt us on some kids, but if a kid is coming to Texas for that reason, we don't want them anyway.”

Still, Cowherd’s larger points remain the same: NIL is creating an imbalance in recruiting, and this is having a direct impact on who ultimately dominates the sport. 

Whether you are in favor of NIL or not, one thing is very clear: the sport needs stronger regulations. College football should not be a sport dictated by money; instead, it should be driven by great programs recruiting players who want to play for that coach, or that brand, or in that stadium, rather than for the money.