There’s absolutely no doubt that NIL is changing the landscape of college football. In fact, former college football coaching legend Nick Saban says that NIL, in part, contributed to his decision to retire from the game. According to Saban, NIL has essentially become a pay-for-play system with no regulation.
“We have collectives that in some places are raising huge amounts of money and going to compete against places that do not have the same resources to raise those kinds of funds to pay players,” Saban said.
“You have a pay-for-play system and a free agency system that has no guidelines, so there’s no competitive balance. I think there’s going to be a lot of places that will say that and we’ll create a caste system where the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer and eventually fans will look at it and say, ‘I don’t really want to watch this game.’”
Ironically, Saban’s final game as a college football head coach resulted in a loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl for the CFP Semifinal. While the University of Michigan certainly has more resources than most college football programs across the country, it has also resisted the “pay-for-play” tactics that many programs are using to land big-time prospects.
Speaking with the media during their Pro Day today in Ann Arbor, several Wolverines shared their thoughts on the current state of college athletics in the era of NIL.
Braiden McGregor, EDGE:
“I’ve heard some of these numbers that are getting thrown out there now from different teams with all of this NIL going on. I’ve had a couple of coaches ask me, ‘alright, are you going to take a pay-cut if we draft you’? No, you’re still making great money in the NFL. Obviously, that’s the most money you’ll see. But some of this is just getting absurd. There’s going to have to come a point where it’s like, ‘okay, we have to figure out a plan,’ or else you’re going to have guys trying to play eight, nine years in college football just to get all that money to transfer somewhere, get the money, and then transfer again. So, hopefully the NCAA gets it under control.”
Mike Barrett, LB:
“The skills that you can take from being here at the University of Michigan are deeper than the NIL money that you can get somewhere else. The skills you learn, not only in football, but as a man in general, it’s second to none. The education you get here, and the brotherhood that you have here, it’s second to none. Whenever you can buy players, you lose that connection with guys. When everything’s about money, there’s more greed. When you’ve got guys who have really bought in, and really love each other, love being here, and love to compete, love to play the game, that’s when you make a really good team.”
Drake Nugent, OL/C
“I just think there’s going to have to be some kind of management to it. Guys are getting money thrown at them left and right, going somewhere and then leaving. There’s plenty of stories out there that you can probably find. But there will be some kind of cap, kind of like the NFL, some kind of management system. I don’t know what that looks like, but I’m sure it will come out eventually.
“I think that’s more of a testament to Coach Moore and who they bring in as people. They did a good job with the transfer class last year, including me. That wasn’t my worry, we were just coming here to be part of the team, win football games and kick ass. It wasn’t really about the money part, and now its going to be turning into that. At the same time, if you just have high-character individuals, bring them into the program, I think it will take care of itself. Coach Moore has been able to do that, and he’ll continue to do that.”
