When former Michigan TE Jake Butt speaks, the college football world listens. And that is not because he was one of the best tight ends the Wolverines have produced. Butt, a two-time All-American and Big Ten Tight End of the Year, went on to play at the NFL with Denver before turning to the analyst seat at Big Ten Network.
Nowadays, Butt’s got the platform, the credentials, and a front-row seat to the chaos of the NCAA dealing with NIL legislation. The NIL era has changed college football. And while it is sweet for the players cashing in, it has been messy for the NCAA trying to keep up. And according to Butt, the NCAA’s grip on the game is slipping.
“NCAA’s Inability to Enforce” — Jake Butt Exposes NIL Dilemma Amidst Power Four’s New Proposal
Jake Butt was recently on an episode of “Next Up” podcast with Adam Breneman, and he didn’t mince his words. What’s the biggest pain point in this whole NIL saga? As Butt puts it, “The hypocrisy and the disconnect in how the rules get enforced.” And this is not coming from someone on the sidelines.
Butt has been on the field and has been through the maze. As he laid it out, there was always money moving behind the curtain in college football, even long before NIL deals were above board. However, now the NCAA’s acting like a traffic cop in the middle of a Formula One race. And no doubt, that comes with the fear of being sued.
“They’re just scared to death. Because they have been getting sued, and they’re basically paralyzed,” Butt claimed.
Currently, the Power Four conferences are proposing a new College Sports Commission to take over the NIL side of the NCAA. The commission will introduce a revenue-sharing cap and have a committee in charge of policing NIL deals for “fair market value.”
Now that sounds good on paper, but the schools that sign this can’t sue the new commission. And if they don’t like the rules, well, too bad, or the school can step out.
And that is where Jake Butt’s frustration cuts deepest. The NCAA, in his eyes, has already lost control.
“I don’t know what they can do—seriously,” he admitted. Looks like even the Power Four proposal is not convincing enough. Butt seems to think that the only way is for the players to step forward.
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As Butt sees it, “The players almost have to propose a CBA… because otherwise, the NCAA can’t be the first to bring this. They will just simply get sued.”
Here, Butt is referring to the House v. NCAA settlement, where $2.78 billion in backpay is on the line and the future of roster limits, Title IX, and NIL disclosures are being hashed out like a last-minute play call.
If it all falls apart, states like Tennessee already have laws that could bulldoze over NCAA policies anyway. And so, as power players scramble, conferences realign, and legal threats loom, Jake Butt’s idea does not sound bad at all.
While college football is changing by the minute, one thing remains painfully consistent: “hypocrisy and disconnect” still seem to be running the show.
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