The college football landscape has changed drastically in recent years. In 2021, NIL was introduced as a means for players to earn money based on their name, image, and likeness.
Paul Finebaum Fears NIL Could Tank College Football’s Popularity
Most people supported the introduction of NIL at the time. Player payment was an issue for years, and NIL seemed to fix the problem. However, its introduction has brought on other problems that many view as an existential threat to the future of college sports.
Paul Finebaum has grown tired of the obsession with NIL contracts in the college football landscape. He believes it has done more harm than good to the sport.
In an interview with On3’s Pete Nakos, which was released on Tuesday, Feb. 11, he spoke about NIL and the issues it causes. He believes that NIL is so unregulated to the point where if things do not change soon, it could impact the sport’s popularity.
“A gradual turn-off,” Finebaum said. “And I believe very strongly that what wasn’t a problem a couple of years ago is now an existential threat to the future of college football. I say that feeling very comfortable and interacting with fans, both on the road when I travel every week and behind a microphone every day. It’s growing, and I think it is going to continue to grow.”
Finebaum went on to add that he does not think conferences and schools agree on whether athlete earning should be equitable or not.
“The lack of leadership overall and cohesion in the sport is creating more of an issue and exacerbating the problem,” Finebaum said. “We may have started at DEFCON Five. We are now moving toward DEFCON Two, and I think DEFCON One. The bells and sirens are going to be ringing very soon.”
The introduction of NIL has allowed players to be paid when they were not able to before 2021. It made sense to add because college sports is a multi-billion dollar industry and players were only getting paid in scholarships.
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However, NIL has caused instability in college football. Most star players do not stick with one team for their entire college career unless that school is willing to pay out. As a result, the transfer portal has become more used.
College sports already had continuity issues because of the nature of players only getting four years of eligibility, but with the increased use of the transfer portal because of NIL, it is even more chaotic.
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