NIL, (name, image and likeness) deals have already changed the college football landscape since the NCAA agreed to allow college athletes to earn money off of sponsorships and endorsements in 2021. Some players have signed NIL deals in the six and seven-figures, eye-popping financial numbers for athletes who were once true amateurs. During an appearance at a Texas High School Coaches Association convention, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart was asked if he was tired of NIL questions. Instead, Smart revealed his biggest concern about such deals, per ESPN.

But he discussed his concern about players getting too much, too fast.

“It's unfortunate that it slid the way it did because I was one of the biggest advocates that the name, image and likeness [rule] needed to be in place,” Smart said. “Look, it is not for everybody. Everybody's not gonna make the same amount of money off of it. … You're gonna have different pay scales for different guys. I can accept that.

“What I can't accept is some young man getting $10,000 a month for four years or three years of college? That's $120K a year. What do you think he's doing with that? Is that actually gonna make him more successful in life? Because, I promise you, if you handed me $10K a month my freshman year of college, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. I believe that.”

Kirby Smart believes some athletes are “getting too much, too fast.” The Bulldogs coach was one of the advocates for NIL deals in college football, though even he is more than a little concerned about how quickly they've taken off.

In a particularly honest moment, Smart said that if he was handed that amount of money when he was in college, he “wouldn't be where he is today.”

Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart likely isn't the only one who feels this way about NIL deals.