‘Legalized cheating’

[Halldan1]

Lane Kiffin: NIL, transfer portal are ‘legalized cheating’ in college football

The Ole Miss head coach likened the sport to a “pay-for-play” system that helps big schools.

nypost.com

Lane Kiffin: NIL, transfer portal are ‘legalized cheating’ in college football​

By Dylan Svoboda

Lane Kiffin blasted name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation and the transfer portal during Thursday’s SEC Media Day, calling college football’s new system “a disaster.”

The Ole Miss head coach likened the sport to a “pay-for-play” system that helps big schools while smaller schools don’t know whether they’ll retain their top talent from one year to the next.

“We have this NIL, it’s great, and this portal, it’s great. Whoa. And I’m not saying I was the only one saying it. Whoa, this is a disaster coming because you just legalized cheating and you just told donors they can pay the players is what you did,” Kiffin said at a press conference.

“And it’s supposed to be set up — well, really it’s for your name, image, likeness, for your marketing. Again, that’s not what happened. That’s not what’s happening. They are getting paid to go to school. So it’s pay-for-play.”

“When you add the NIL at the same time, we have created, I’ve said it before, we’ve got different caps and no luxury taxes,” Kiffin added. “So we’ve got professional sports, because that really is what we are, what’s been created now, and there’s no caps on what guys can make or what teams’ payrolls are.”

Kiffin has certainly used the transfer portal to his advantage since it came into existence in 2018.

This season, Ole Miss acquired 20 players through the portal, including Oklahoma State quarterbacks Spencer Sanders and five-star LSU recruit Walker Howard.

Last season’s starting quarterback for the Rebels, Jaxson Dart, also came to Oxford through the portal.

“That’s the world we live in,” Kiffin said. “But at the same time, I don’t think that’s really good for college football. These massive overhauls of rosters every year really is not in the best interest of college football.

“There’s kind of your state of union on the situation of what all coaches are dealing with around the country — really, a poor system that isn’t getting better and now is going to get worse.”

Kiffin is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Rebels.

Ole Miss finished 8-5 last season and is 23-13 overall since Kiffin took over in 2020.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

The video and hearing his spoken word really makes it pop.

 

[hallgrad80]

He’s been a vocal critic from Day 1 and has a reputation of speaking out when he believe something is not right. Of course Mississippi is among the bottom of the SEC in terms of its ability to compete with the Bama’s and Georgia’s of the SEC in the Pay to Play recruiting competition.

 

[HallLine69]

Good for Kiffin. He is right on the money (no pun intended).

 

[HALL85]

Legalized Cheating would have to assume there are rules to begin with.....

 

[GloryDays85]

No doubt Kiffin loved the old school (bag under the table) method.

Lane Kiffin is the farthest thing from a choir boy! His take on this issue should be taken with a grain of salt

 

[jack 1970]

When even the haves complain you know the system is broken.

 

[Potbelly407]

When even the haves complain you know the system is broken.

Exactly. When Saban and Kiffin are complaining you know this is chaos

 

[SOBO1]

I really appreciate his candor (Fran McCaffery made similar remarks last summer). At least for me, it's extremely frustrating listening to people talk about NIL without acknowledging the pay for play component.

99% of all cases is just boosters paying players. Nothing more, nothing less. Please don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining by pretending this is NIL.

 

[cams555]

... but who does it benefit? If they cut down on the transfer rule the big name schools will get kids to commit with a big offer. If the kid does end up playing and the coach gets a chance to develop him if they are under "contract". If he doesn't progress the kid still stays the coach can recruit over him and now he's stuck.

As much as I agree its chaos, its putting the school before the kid. Also smalls schools like Seton Hall might benefit with the current structure. the kids are going to want to live out their dreams coming out of high school and get the "big payday" then when the curtains open and they aren't getting what they are promised they should have the right to move on. Then schools that might not have as big of a bag can come in and develop them.

I am not saying that the current condition is great but what I am saying is I don't think Kiffin is making these statements if it didn't benefit him

 

[Section112]

No doubt Kiffin loved the old school (bag under the table) method.

Lane Kiffin is the farthest thing from a choir boy! His take on this issue should be taken with a grain of salt

Kiffin has never been a choir boy and that is what is so scary about his truthful statements. He is 100% correct and this is from a guy who knows how to play the game and work the system as well as anyone. Glad coaches are speaking out about this. Nardone at Pitt has been a vocal critic as well. It's terrible for the $ sports long-term and then you have these idiot state politicians making it ten times worse with their new laws trying to benefit their state schools.

 

[chickenbox]

Multiple things can be true. I think they are in this case.

NIL and transfer portal have sapped a huge amount of my interest in and enthusiasm for college basketball (I'm sure it would be a lesser impact if we were a program ascending because of it, rather than the opposite).

and

The previous system was a multibillion-dollar industry generating incredible wealth off the backs of players who were called amateurs to prevent them from being able to share in the rewards like they would without that label.

 

[GloryDays85]

When NCAA officials were driving around in Mercedes and at same time there were rules about how much food an 18 year old basketball player could receive from a school on daily basis the system was broke and a joke.

Rich NCAA employees and school administrators who profited off of kids’ talents for far too long only have to look in the mirror for why this system went off the rails.

 

[GloryDays85]

Add in highly paid coaches who could change jobs on a whim for lucrative salary increases while at the same time kids looking for a change and a better situation had to sit out for a year.

 

[cernjSHU]

Not a fan of Lane but what he said was 100% correct. And just because there were ridiculous restrictions with the NCAA, it doesn't mean you go to this system which is pure pay to play and the richest teams win. Goodbye to what made the NCAA basketball tournament great. The Cinderella who makes a run. Goodbye to a coach developing a program based upon his skills like PJ or Brad Stevens. I understand money was exchanged before. But it had to be discreet and it could not be overdone. Now, it will be all about the money 100% of the time.

 

[GloryDays85]

So true but the NCAA mafia led to this

 

[shu09]

Add in highly paid coaches who could change jobs on a whim for lucrative salary increases while at the same time kids looking for a change and a better situation had to sit out for a year.

Nonsense. Coaches are professionals/employees of their universities - they are allowed to change jobs anytime they want like you and I can.

College students are not professionals. I am so sick of this system that now treats college students as professional athletes. If they want to make money playing a sport, go professional.

 

[SHUSA]

hes just mad he cant get ahead by cheating now

 

[GloryDays85]

Agree to disagree.

The players deserve their cut of the pie. There is no college basketball product without their skills.

There is nothing amateur anymore about an industry that generates billions of dollars and where each school wants to secure every last TV dollar they can.

Either you accept it or go find another thing to watch. It ain’t going back to your mom and dad’s days