Will the NIL start doing contracts now?

[Twanger]

Last Sept of 2024 there was a thread on here about NIL and I brought up a point of a player renegotiating every year and what’s to stop them from doing so. Tenn’s qb Nico wanted to renegotiate his 2.5 million dollar deal into a 4million dollar deal. I’m glad the program moved on from him. He’s a good qb but he didn’t show me that he’s worth 4 million. I’m sure someone will pay him 4 million but I’m glad UT didn’t let him set the precedent and hold the program hostage. This whole NIL has ruined college sports for me. I’ll still watch when it’s convenient and I’ll still pull for UT ,but I’m done with college sports. Set a price of $200k per year per player across the board and make it a level playing field for smaller schools also. No one is bigger than the program. A lineman deserves as much money as a qb. If not watch how good a qb is without an offensive line. If a player couldn’t live good on 200k a year,they’ve got bigger problems. They need to learn that it’s teamwork not individualism.

[Michael333]

Last Sept of 2024 there was a thread on here about NIL and I brought up a point of a player renegotiating every year and what’s to stop them from doing so. Tenn’s qb Nico wanted to renegotiate his 2.5 million dollar deal into a 4million dollar deal. I’m glad the program moved on from him. He’s a good qb but he didn’t show me that he’s worth 4 million. I’m sure someone will pay him 4 million but I’m glad UT didn’t let him set the precedent and hold the program hostage. This whole NIL has ruined college sports for me. I’ll still watch when it’s convenient and I’ll still pull for UT ,but I’m done with college sports. Set a price of $200k per year per player across the board and make it a level playing field for smaller schools also. No one is bigger than the program. A lineman deserves as much money as a qb. If not watch how good a qb is without an offensive line. If a player couldn’t live good on 200k a year,they’ve got bigger problems. They need to learn that it’s teamwork not individualism.

I agree 100%, I’m a big Tennessee fan, but I’m glad they cut him loose. It’s BS pulling that crap right before the spring game, this stuff is gonna get out of hand. You’re gonna see more of this and they have to fix it. Really proud of coach and the university for standing their ground and saying enough is enough, that kid ain’t worth 4 million a year

[Jeff Hahn]

Universities would be crazy not to require an athlete getting NIL money to sign a contract.

[ardenbass]

I guess the $s will surpass what he is getting now but where does he end up. It was reported he reached out to the Ducks and they had no interest. Whoever gets him should be ready for overthrows, balls behind receivers on crossing routes, and locking in on his 1st read. He also wasn't exceptional against good teams.

[Fuzzy12]

Hate NIL, ruined college sports for me. LamaLEAVA was decent but UTs defense kept them in games. Hardly worth what he was getting. Saban was smart for leaving Alabama, he seen this coming.

[cg2fish]

Savannah is a smart man. They need to put him in charge if nil. Things would change pretty quickly.

[dlewis10]

I guess my biggest question is this. These kids getting paid millions in NIL money, do they attend classes, do academic work, pass tests/exams, etc...it's kind of oxymoronish to call this college sports. Does anyone remember "student athlete" ?

I'll just start calling these college athletes the minor league system. Screw the student part, that doesn't seem to exist any longer.

[Judson1]

Hate NIL, ruined college sports for me. LamaLEAVA was decent but UTs defense kept them in games. Hardly worth what he was getting. Saban was smart for leaving Alabama, he seen this coming.

Agree. I have totally lost connection with my school. Used to be they went there and you watched them grow. Became connected to them. Felt as if they liked the school for the same reasons you do. Now; they’re just there for the dollars. And will flat leave if someone else offers more. Wether it’s wrong or right isn’t the point. But I cannot get behind the thought I will feel great if a team I helped pay for wins something. So for that I’ll never contribute and will continue to fall further away from being emotionally invested in Saturdays.

[basscat21]

NIL will not go away at this point. Partially brought the payments public. The way to control it is through the transfer portal. Go back to the year off if you transfer. That will bring the stock, dollar value down in the transfer, or lose a year of eligibility. NIL is in all levels, and all college sports now. JUCO players are getting NIL. What NIL also does is allow players to represent a product, or be sponsored by companies. Kid could have a signature bat, or stick. They can get paid for appearances, or play for pay. Back in the 80s a friend was a Gymnast at Penn State, he had to make the decision to be in the Movie about Gymnastics, or lose his schalarship. He could with NIL.

[Jeff Hahn]

I guess my biggest question is this. These kids getting paid millions in NIL money, do they attend classes, do academic work, pass tests/exams, etc...it's kind of oxymoronish to call this college sports. Does anyone remember "student athlete" ?

I'll just start calling these college athletes the minor league system. Screw the student part, that doesn't seem to exist any longer.

The only true "student athletes" anymore play in Division III where there are no athletic scholarships. College sports, especially football, have always the minor league for pro sports...and pro team owners didn't have to pay a cent for universities training their next generation of players.

[Tone357]

There is no way you can justify to me why a kid in college is making more money than the last guy on an NFL team. It's crazy! I can't believe they don't require contracts!

[HobeyBaker]

NIL will not go away at this point. Partially brought the payments public. The way to control it is through the transfer portal. Go back to the year off if you transfer. That will bring the stock, dollar value down in the transfer, or lose a year of eligibility. NIL is in all levels, and all college sports now. JUCO players are getting NIL. What NIL also does is allow players to represent a product, or be sponsored by companies. Kid could have a signature bat, or stick. They can get paid for appearances, or play for pay. Back in the 80s a friend was a Gymnast at Penn State, he had to make the decision to be in the Movie about Gymnastics, or lose his schalarship. He could with NIL.

There is no portal and contracts don’t matter. Read into the corner who transferred from Wisconsin to Miami. Signed a contract after the season, Miami tampers and offers more money, Wisconsin refuses to release him into the portal because he signed a contract, and he transferred without going into the portal.

[basscat21]

There is no portal and contracts don’t matter. Read into the corner who transferred from Wisconsin to Miami. Signed a contract after the season, Miami tampers and offers more money, Wisconsin refuses to release him into the portal because he signed a contract, and he transferred without going into the portal.

He should not be able to play.......and have to sit a year.

[Stoner]

At this point it’s a job and players should be evaluated on their performance just like any other employer would do. When expectations aren’t met the money stops flowing. Rarely do any of these guys leave college with any financial management skills and maybe this would help welcome them to the real world.

[Jeff Hahn]

There is no portal and contracts don’t matter. Read into the corner who transferred from Wisconsin to Miami. Signed a contract after the season, Miami tampers and offers more money, Wisconsin refuses to release him into the portal because he signed a contract, and he transferred without going into the portal.

If a contract was signed and not honored, that’s grounds for a law suit.

[ChuckTR21]

With the NIL and the Portal, the lunatics are running the asylum. Good on TN for telling him bye-bye.
Alabama's spring "game" was yesterday and it was very poorly attended. Nothing but a practice that fans got to watch; supposedly so other teams won't try to steal players. College football is dying, if not already dead.

[HobeyBaker]

If a contract was signed and not honored, that’s grounds for a law suit.

I believe they are in litigation.

[kry29]

I think contracts or other changes will be coming shortly. They have to put regulations on the portal and i think contracts will be the norm but it will take multiple schools doing it together for it to stick

[osutodd]

How about if the NCAA schools had a policy of paying half of NIL dollars immediately, and the other half when a student graduates, signs a pro contract, or uses up eligibility? If they quit, get expelled from the university, or transfer to another program, they forfeit the other half of their NIL dollars.

[dwtaylor]

Colleges are hiring GMs so this contract stuff is coming soon.

To make things clear, I am in favor of NIL. The blue blood programs make billions combined every year between ticket sales, merch, and tv/media money and the kids used to only legally be entitled to a scholarship at most. Several of the blue bloods and their networks were getting kids paid under the table before NIL was a thing, now it is really just leveling the playing field to the mid and lower tier FBS schools. However, I don't like how these kids are shopping it around every year and combine that with how ridiculously easy it is to transfer, it is no surprise that the quality of college football last year was so bad.

I think the NCAA needs to crack down on tampering outside the portal period and to kids not in the portal and put severe punishments on the schools doing it and not just scholarship loss. If a blue blood gets caught illegally tampering, they need to lose post season eligibility and forfeit money.

The NCAA needs to implement strict rules on transferring yesterday. Lets go back to the automatic redshirt when transferring with a lone exception to grad transfers. In addition, a kid can only transfer 1 time before graduating and can only transfer a max of 2x (1 for undergrad and one for grad transfer). Also, limit the amount of medical redshirts to 1 year and a medical redshirt cannot replace the automatic redshirt from a transfer. No immediate transfer eligibility if your coach leaves either.