Many people, including us, say the NIL contracts for student-athletes have been a huge success. College athletics should be an altruistic endeavor because kids are getting an educational "opportunity of a lifetime", but they give an unpaid workforce access to a revenue stream, make for great stories when used right, and end this ruse. It is idiotic to say they are getting an overpriced degree for free.
The NIL deals would be bad for business, but they are for added regulation because they believe the gap between the haves and have nots will only grow.
The concern was that unregulated NIL deals would widen the already massive expanse in recruiting.
I think we need some kind of national legislation to sort of control that to some degree, because I think there will be an imbalance relative to who can dominate college football if that is not regulated in some form or fashion.
Smart sounded a warning similar to his former boss.
He said before the title game that the separation that is already there is going to grow larger. The NIL market is going to be more competitive if the schools have the capacity and ability to step ahead of other schools. A lot of young men want to make their decision based on that, so I don't want recruiting decisions to be based on that.
Since he left Alabama to become the head coach of the Dawgs, Smart has turned Georgia into a "have", finally beating the Tide on Monday for the school's first title in 40-plus years. Georgia is likely to be at the CFB Playoff club, which was already exclusive before the NIL deals.
Only 13 teams have made it to the playoffs in the eight years of the college football playoffs, with Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Washington, Georgia, Notre Dame, LSU, and Cincinnati making it. In its eight years, there have been five different winners, but only six teams, including Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Ohio State.
College football has a problem with its crowning moment getting stagnant. The exhaustion of another all-SEC title game was felt by more people than just my dad, who said he was recording the game but would only watch if Georgia won.
Winning used to be enough to get your program to a level of dominance. Life was much easier for recruits when they focused on the school that gave them the best chance of making the team.
The rich getting richer because they are already rich is a concern. Alabama and Georgia are the only teams that have boosters willing to spend money. All the schools pay their coaches not to coach. Do you think the people who are willing to give Lincoln Riley $100 million will stop at the coach? Nike and Phil Knight can throw money around to get kids to choose Oregon.
Two SEC coaches complained about the transfer portal in an article. The players were transferred because they wanted to play. Jameson Williams, their best receiver, transferred from Ohio State. Smart wants athletes who are willing to work hard in college athletics, and he wants them to not run away.
You don't want the money to get out of control because it gives you a competitive advantage, but you don't want student athletes transferring because it reduces your competitive advantage?
They don't want change despite a large portion of college football fans begging for it.
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