Randy Smith: A Fine Line Surrounds NIL Deals

The NCAA has asked its 1100 member schools for help in regulating investigations involving NIL deals. Since the NCAA hasn't been doing a good job investigating its prior violations, it definitely needs help as schools cross the line to get an advantage over their rivals. As Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin said, "They just legalized cheating."

As coaches around the country build their rosters by using the Transfer Portal and with boosters now paying players through the Name, Image and Likeness system, college sports will soon look nothing like we're all used to seeing. They may look that way right now. A lot of the changes took place gradually but in the past few years, things have started changing drastically. As I mentioned in a previous article, the NCAA may soon lose its control over college football and the big-time programs will branch out on their own....as kind of a 'minor league' for the NFL. I don't like that concept at all.

In the 1970s, college teams were allowed to play true freshmen for the first time ever. Then in the 1980s, money became the root of all evil as the courts decided that schools and conferences could work out their own deals with the television networks. More and more games began to be televised and eventually every school would have their games on television. Now, even UTC has its games on ESPN3, home and away. Just a few years ago the Transfer Portal was formed and players would no longer have to sit out  a year before transferring and now they are free to transfer to a school within the same conference. I can see schools getting away with cheating and there will be no way to regulate it.

There used to be "bag men" who would deliver money to athletes and their families. Mamas would get new cars and even newer, better places to live. Some coaches were even involved in paying players directly. (Does Jeremy Pruitt and his staff come to mind?) Quite a few coaches were fired after the NCAA would come snooping around. (Does Jeremy Pruitt and his staff come to mind?)  Seriously cheating has been around as long as the games themselves. Some schools would look the other way, or smile with tongue in cheek as accusations would fly around them. Now, there is no real way to regulate things.

United States Senators Tommy Tuberville from Alabama and Joe Manchin from West Virginia have been approached to put together legislation to regulate the NIL deals. That would be a good start but the way Congress drags its feet on everything else, it's going to take a while to get anything put together and passed. In the meantime, coaches will accuse each other of using the NIL for unfair advantages....in other words cheating.

One former college player from many years ago, who shall remain anonymous, said when he was drafted by the NFL, he took a pay cut from what he was making in college. We may be headed that way once again.