Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart didn’t hold back when addressing the growing trend of top players leaving for better NIL deals. With the transfer portal now a high-stakes marketplace, elite college football stars are cashing in on multi-million dollar contracts.
CFB Analyst Sheds Light on Transfer Portal Process
Building on Smart’s viral remarks, analyst Joe DeLeone of “A to Z Sports” weighed in on the growing trend of players chasing bigger paydays. On the latest episode of “The Ruffino & Joe Show”, DeLeone echoed Smart’s concerns, talking about how NIL deals are reshaping college football’s competitive spirit.
“No, he’s not. You and I are privy to what goes on behind closed doors and I speak to agents, you speak to agents, I think a lot of people don’t realize that a lot of these movements that happen when kids do decide to enter the transfer portal it’s because their agents have reached out to schools, and they’ve already started the communication. If they don’t think that it’s worth their player entering the portal, they’ll get a bump in pay or whatever they’re getting and they’ll stick around,” DeLeone said.
DeLeone took it a step further; agents secretly negotiated with team managers before players even hit the transfer portal.
“But if they put their name out there and the school that they’re currently at can’t match it, that player enters the portal and then they go to the highest bidder for the most part.”
“That is what the current process is I think it’s crazy that it’s kind of lazy that these agents are just throwing together a Zoom call saying like, ‘All right, just tell me which dudes you want and we’re going to make it happen.’ That to me, is really stupid but it is insane to like really put into context here of, how unregulated this is,” he stated.
Smart’s comments have sent shockwaves through the college football world, pulling back the curtain on the hidden power plays influencing player movement.
Kirby Smart Reveals the Secrets of College Football
The Bulldogs have been hit hard by the transfer portal, including quarterback Carson Beck, who made headlines by committing to the Miami Hurricanes during the 2025 winter window. On Wednesday, Kirby Smart didn’t hold back, shedding light on a major loophole in the system.
He called out how agents are leveraging backdoor negotiations to secure lucrative NIL deals for players before they even officially enter the portal.
“What I do know is we’re gonna continue to recruit people who love football, who are passionate about football, that don’t put money as the number one answer,” Smart said. “Like, I’ve never met a really good player that that’s all they care about. 105 number, the NIL number, what’s the cap number, what going on right now in college football. I mean there’s people reaching out to do a Zoom call that are on team’s including our teams.”
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“All we’re trying to do is make for competitive balance. It’s really unfortunate that I don’t know if competitive balance is going to come out of it. I don’t know if the kids in the model that we currently have, if they win long term. Long term when we have to cut sports and other things, are the kids going to be the winners in this? I don’t know,” he added.
Smart’s comments have sent shockwaves through the college football world. With pressure mounting, all eyes are now on the NCAA to see if any reforms will be put in place to curb these behind-the-scenes dealings.
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