College sports look a lot different than they did just a few years ago before NIL and the transfer portal became such a big thing. There are positives that come with it, but a lot of people also have issues with this new era, specifically when it comes to college football and college basketball. One coach that thinks things need to change is LSU football head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly thinks that a salary cap for NIL could fix a lot of issues.
Most people agree that while that NIL has brought along some positives, there are also things that need to be fixed. For example, a lot of players are asking for money from teams before they even do anything. That wasn't the intention of NIL. LSU football head coach Brian Kelly thinks that a salary cap could help solve some of the problems.
“Well if we had a salary cap I'd be okay with it, but there's no salary cap,” Kelly said during an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show. “I mean that's the issue really, I mean if we all were operating under the same guidelines, at least we could you know, know ‘okay this is what we've got,' but that's really the biggest issue. But look the parallels, you're right, I mean look Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, they're all looking for that rookie signing bonus. We're out there recruiting seniors in high school, they're looking for that freshman signing bonus. The transfer portal, he's looking for a free agent bonus, and then the guys on your roster they want retention bonuses. So look, it parallels, NIL money is broken down into the three categories that the NFL is paying out, and we're doing the same thing. Unfortunately, we're doing it without a salary cap, and that's where it makes it just absolutely crazy, because you just don’t know what the numbers are from year to year.”
Kelly has a point. There are so many similarities to the NFL now in terms of paying players through NIL, but there is very little structure to it like the NFL has. Something needs to change, because too many coaches have issues with how things are going right now.
How would a salary cap work?
Brian Kelly has an idea, but we have to think about how this would actually work. It's much easier in the NFL because there are 32 teams all in the same league and there isn't much of a gap between the teams. It's professional football, they all have similar resources. That isn't the case in college, however. Teams like LSU football and the rest of the SEC have way better resources than teams in the Mountain West.
The differences in teams and leagues in college football makes NIL a slippery slope. It's hard to figure out a good solution, but it certainly does seem like something needs to change.
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