NIL Changed College Football Forever

The transfer portal has opened up in college football and chaos is erupting. Over 4000 players are currently in the transfer portal looking for new programs. That’s One-Third of all college football players. High school recruiting is starting to become irrelevant as players are opting to transfer away briskly into their college careers. 

TOP REASONS TO TRANSFER

NIL Opportunities 

The biggest change in recent years to the college football landscape has been NIL. Players are making millions of dollars to commit to a school without having any game experience. In retrospect, this is what the players have been wanting all along but, it is ruining the sport. Many players feel obligated to a hefty NIL deal while playing in college. Before, players would work hard and develop throughout their careers hoping to make it to the NFL. I can’t blame these athletes for wanting to take the “guaranteed” money, but it shouldn’t be the biggest deciding factor when choosing a school. The transfer portal has given a new path of NIL opportunities and it’s becoming “free agency”. Players are starting to jump in the portal to test the NIL market and see if they can make more money someplace else. This has caused over 33% of the athletes to enter the portal. Reports of “bidding wars” are starting to circulate for the top players in the transfer portal and it begs the question: How did we get here? Well, when NIL was first announced many thought that meant sponsorships and some jersey sale profit sharing. College players would make a satisfactory amount of money under this system and players would finally be paid what they deserve. That has not been the case. Boosters and programs are starting to create foundations, funds, and different avenues to pay the player directly without them finding it on their own. This is causing the “bidding wars” and the teams with the highest offers are getting the players. 

Playing Time

All young players want to come into college football and play right away. This is not realistic as teams throughout the country are littered with talent. Young players have become impatient in college football and they are looking for another chance someplace else. This has affected the depth of each program as players will look to transfer out if they aren’t guaranteed a starting spot. The days of “next man up” mentality are limited as players look to go wherever they can to play crucial minutes. Programs across the country are concerned with their depth especially after the college football playoff has expanded. Every year, programs lose players to the draft, graduation, or other factors but they always had other talented players on their rosters to replace them. The transfer portal has changed the outlook of a roster. 

HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITING

In the past, the teams with the best high school recruiting classes fared well in college football. High school recruits hardly made the starting lineup but developed throughout their career. Nowadays, teams are looking to become competitive as quickly as possible and the transfer portal allows teams to find players that can contribute immediately. The last few National Champions have added experienced players from the transfer portal to fill weak spots on their team. The teams that had the more experienced players have fared well in the playoffs. The amount of players in the transfer portal is causing teams to rethink their outlook of roster construction. Many teams are utilizing the transfer portal to reconstruct their programs instead of waiting for high school recruits to develop. This has caused high school recruits to transfer out of programs as their spot may have been taken by a more experienced player from the portal. 

NIL / TRANSFER LIMITATIONS 

College football is changing and it is affecting everyone including the fans. Fans across the country have been disappointed with NIL and they believe there needs to be some regulation. Every year, your favorite player can be in jeopardy of returning to that school because of NIL. The amount of money that's been rumored can change these players' lives and they will chase it. Now that NIL is on the table for these athletes, I don’t believe they can ever take it away. It will be hard for the NCAA to try and regulate the NIL as teams will look to gain an advantage anyway they can. We will need to change the transfer rules for athletes instead. Before NIL, athletes had to file for a transfer through the NCAA and get approved. Players would have to state valid reasoning to be able to leave. I don’t think that the NCAA can do that again as many players will send transfer waivers but we can limit the amount. All college athletes should be able to transfer but there needs to be some rules.

Amount of Transfers: Each athlete should have the opportunity to transfer (1) time in their college careers. If they would like to transfer again they will need permission from the NCAA. Transfer Scholarships: Programs should be limited to the amount of transfers they are allowed to bring into their program. You should not be able to field a whole roster of transfers anymore. 

Age Requirements: Athletes right out of high school should not be allowed to transfer until after a certain time period. Young athletes have made their decisions on which school they wanted to attend and they must stick with that school for a certain amount of time. Some circumstances will allow them to transfer sooner.

NIL Regulations: There needs to be a limit on how much money you can pay a transfer athlete. This will stop the bidding wars and create a more fair environment.