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Hey there,

Let's have a heart-to-heart, because today, I can’t help but share something weighing on my mind. I know you’re used to expert interviews on Wednesdays — and rest assured, those will continue — but today, I wanted to share some thoughts on a particular issue that seems to keep coming up.

That issue is the current “blame game” in the NIL/transfer portal world, with one particular group of people bearing the brunt of the criticism: student-athletes.

Now, I get it. We’re all frustrated with how NIL operates with the transfer portal right now… but given how often student-athletes are blamed for the system’s current shortcomings, I wanted to set some things straight.

I hope you enjoy today’s discussion. Let us know your thoughts on this issue by replying to this email or shooting us a message at editor@nil-wire. Oh, and check out our sponsor today, Birdie Golf! Now let’s get into it.

— Editor Cole

Who Not to Blame for NIL Madness.

Last week, LSU’s head football coach Brian Kelly caused quite a stir by talking about the Tigers’ NIL strategy. According to Kelly, the team was in the market for a defensive tackle – someone who plugs up the run while applying pressure to the QB on passing downs, like Maason Smith did for Kelly last year.

Well, when the Tigers couldn’t entice any defensive tackles to come to Baton Rouge, Kelly was understandably upset.  

“I think I made it clear in a number of the press conferences that I had that we were in the market in recruiting in the transfer portal looking for defensive linemen,” Kelly told a local TV station,  “It hasn't fared very well quite frankly, because we're selling something a little bit differently.”

“We're not in the market of buying players,” he continued, “Unfortunately, right now, that's what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought.”

To recap: Brian Kelly went into the transfer portal looking to use NIL funds to recruit talent. When he struck out doing so, he took to television to vent about players being too money-driven. All the while, Kelly himself is about three years removed from leaving a premiere program at Notre Dame, where he was getting paid about $3M per year, to sign a contract worth almost $100M at LSU. Doesn’t it all just sound… well, a bit silly?

Now, before we go any further, I want to be clear that I understand Kelly’s frustration, and I don’t even blame him for leaving Notre Dame for LSU. In fact, that’s precisely the point I’m getting at.

Why do coaches see themselves as worthy of big money while simultaneously delegitimizing student-athletes with the same mindset? Why do free markets only apply in one direction? Simply put, it’s a double standard.

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Holding the Tension

I think Wisconsin basketball’s Greg Gard gave a really self-aware response to this problem when he lost two of his best players in the transfer portal:

I like two things about Gard’s response: First, he acknowledges that he’s upset about losing two of his best players – that’s real disappointment you hear in his voice, and he’s not sugar-coating his feelings.

However, he holds those feelings in tension with the reality that the system created this problem, not the players themselves. Gard refuses to assign some moral failing to players leaving for a payday because, in every other industry, anyone else would do the exact same thing.

That’s where Kelly seems to be missing the mark, at least in my opinion. Is the transfer portal a system perfect right now? Absolutely not. Are there issues with how NIL is employed in college sports? As someone who covers this topic every single day, plenty of changes need to be made. All of that can be true… and still, it doesn’t have to be the players’ fault for chasing their market value.

A Growing Trend

I don’t want to pick on Kelly here – he’s just the most recent example of what seems to be a growing nationwide phenomenon within coaching circles. Some coaches are adjusting to the NIL landscape seamlessly, while others will take more time.

However, comments such as Kelly’s will likely age poorly, nevertheless. Soon enough, we could be looking at a professionalized college football league. Once that “amateurism” label is gone, the conversation becomes vastly different than it was even six months ago.

Imagine an NFL coach telling their million-dollar free agent target to stop being greedy and just sign with the team – it seems a bit out-of-touch, right? That’s precisely how Brian Kelly’s comments read to me, and how I see them reading to almost everyone in the near future. 

Financial Incentives? Or Greed?

At the end of the day, coaches will always complain, and I still think they have a right to do so. But why have student-athletes become the scapegoat? I don’t think Brian Kelly has a problem with free-market economics, but judging by what he’s said recently, there seem to be limits to how far he thinks the free market extends.

Are financial incentives the same as greed? Instead of arguing about college sports, maybe we should start by asking that question. Once we answer that, perhaps we can begin an honest conversation about the future economic modeling of college sports.