College sports look very different with NIL, and college football especially has seen drastic changes as the most money is there. For some coaches, there are no complaints. However, for others that don't have the same resources, it can be a challenge. Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin has had some complaints about it in the past, and while now he wants it to be clear that he isn't complaining, Kiffin still has some issues with everything.
Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin made it clear during a recent interview that he isn't complaining about NIL and he is utilizing it, but he does have some issues with it.
“I also said to make sure you understand I’m not complaining about it,” Kiffin said, according to an article from On3. “And I’m not sitting here complaining and not using it.”
Kiffin doesn't seem too worried about NIL having a negative impact on Ole Miss. As an SEC school with traditionally good sports programs, it has benefited the Rebels. However, Kiffin still calls it a “disaster.”
“It just probably sounds strange to a lot of people for me to say the disaster when we’re out there — some would say — maximizing it as well as you can and as well as anybody,” Kiffin said. “But to me, that tells you how much of a disaster it is. Even though it benefits us, I’m still telling you it’s a disaster even though it benefits us at Ole Miss a lot.”
Love it or hate it, NIL is the name of the game in today's college football world. It's adapt or die, and even though Kiffin doesn't seem to be a huge fan, he knows his Ole Miss football team would fall way behind without it.
“You had this other side saying ‘This is ridiculous. The players shouldn’t be paid. This is going to go away.’ There was a lot of that,” Kiffin added. “A lot of coaches and administrators thought this is going to go away. From the beginning, I said it may, but it’s going to be a long time from now before it goes away. If you sit around and wait for it to go away, you’re going to be out of a job as an AD or a coach. And your football program is going to be really bad.”
Lane Kiffin has ideas on how to make things better
Lane Kiffin doesn't just talk about the issues he has with the current structure, he also has some ideas on how it can be fixed.
“I would get some structure around it to make them employees so they have real contracts that everyone can see,” Kiffin said. “So you know what the market and people can’t say ‘I have this’ or ‘I’m making this.’ Then there would be revenue sharing involved, so it would be more equal what they’re getting. And then there would be a cap.”
The changes that college football has seen in just the past few years have been astronomical. Kiffin and Ole Miss football will likely go through even more changes as this is still all so new, and it will continue to change.
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