NIL is a major part of college sports today. Without it, a program can fall behind, and with a strong foundation, a program can pull away from others. Just a few years ago, players weren't receiving NIL money. Now, everything has changed. Memphis basketball head coach Penny Hardaway is very familiar with NIL, and he has to use it as a tool for recruiting. NIL can help bring players in, but it can also push players away. Hardaway recently appeared on The Big Podcast With Shaq, and he discussed with Shaquille O'Neal how to potentially fix some NIL issues.
Penny Hardaway played college basketball for Memphis basketball, and now he is the head coach of the Tigers. He has been the head coach since 2018, and his only prior coaching experience was at the high school level. Hardaway has had a couple solid seasons with Memphis as they have made the NCAA Tournament twice. Hardaway wants to get his team back there, and an important part of the job is obviously recruiting, which goes hand in hand with NIL.
Another thing that goes hand in hand with NIL is the transfer portal. Players will leave a school if they can get more NIL elsewhere, and it has become a bit of an issue. Shaq thinks that an NIL governing body would help solve the problem.
“Do you think we should have some type of NIL governing body?” Shaq asked. “Because the only thing I don’t like about it is, let’s just say I took $300,000 from Memphis University, and me and you don’t get along, now I can go back in the portal and get some new money. Do you think I should be able to say, ‘Okay, if you’re going to sign with Penny Hardaway and he gives you $300,000, you at least got to stay 2 or 3 years?' Like do you think there needs to be an NIL governing body?”
Penny Hardaway agrees with Shaq
We saw this issue happen with a couple different players in college football this offseason. They entered the portal and committed to a new school, collected NIL money, then transferred back to their previous school with the NIL money that they had received. That is a problem, and Penny Hardaway agrees with Shaq about the NIL governing body idea.
“Man you know what, I would love that because there should be a governing body,” Hardaway said. “I think that what’s making the donors and boosters around the country frown is because they could give a guy 5,6,7, 800,000 thousand and he can have the best year of his life, but if someone offers him $2 million next year, he’s gone. And that’s what’s the problem with college sports right now.”
A lot of people agree that there are some problems with college athletics right now, and NIL is something that a lot of people have issues with. Everyone wants to see the athletes get a fair share of the money as they have earned it, but there seems to be a need for more regulations around everything in the NIL world.
This is something that is new to college sports. Like all new things, there are some kinks to work out, and it will continue to evolve over time.
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