WATCH: Pittman Details NIL Impact on Hogs' Roster Management

Arkansas coach discusses college football's unsanctioned NIL, portal landscape

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman on the sidelines against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman was brutally honest about the instability coaches deal with now, pulling back the curtain a little bit on the business dealings behind NIL and the transfer portal during a recent podcast interview 

Neither of those two things were meant to have a negative impact on college athletics, but loopholes have created an unhealthy environment to what was amateur sports. Players of all levels have some type of worth and are entitled to compensation for the pleasure and enjoyment they bring to fans.

Pittman sat down with Coaches and THE MOUTH POD hosts Jeff Williams and Brey Cook to discuss how NIL has impacted the college football landscape and Arkansas' success in the transfer portal.

Breaking down Offseason NIL & The Portal

Full episode streaming here:https://t.co/4LXsTPNihk pic.twitter.com/Gs4wdQ8o9f

— Coaches and The Mouth POD (@COACHESPOD) March 6, 2025

College sports basically lack limitations and are often referred to as the Wild West. Pittman supported this view by painting a vivid picture of players who have been tampered with who walk into his office having already decided to transfer for a much larger payday.

"They walk into your room, the agents already told them I got $600,000 from [a different school]," Pittman said. "Not only now that puts me in a terrible situation, but they think that we underpaid them."

That's a tough, awkward situation for a coach. Not only do these type of meetings happen during the course of an offseason, but oftentimes during fall camp.

"Now, they come in mad where they were happy when they got the money," Pittman said. "It's not a let's sit down and about it. It's 'I was underpaid. I love you. I loved it here at Arkansas, but I'm going in the portal,' and that's just how it is, and that's how it works at a lot of different places.

It becomes a headache for all in the profession without contracts or any sort of model, collective bargaining agreement or a simple union. Pittman is a tough guy at 63-years-old and six years into his first stint as a head coach who has dealt with an ever-changing climate in a sport he's been coaching in as an assistant since 1994.

"So, my point being is you're going to pay what you can pay, but at some point, there is a limit of what you can pay one guy because you're going, 'Well, if you leave, I can replace you with three," Pittman said.

Arkansas Razorbacks tight end Luke Hasz catches a pass against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

He lost several key players on the offensive side of the football last season and did exactly what he said he would do by bring in multiple guys to a position. At wide receiver, tight end and offensive line, the Razorbacks lost 11 guys and bring in 12 with another portal window opening April 16.

Arkansas lost starts such as wide receiver Isaiah Sategna (Oklahoma), tight end Luke Hasz, offensive lineman Patrick Kutas and Jaylon Braxton all to Ole Miss. Linebacker Brad Spence (Texas), offensive lineman Addison Nichols (SMU) and the Metcalf's to Michigan were all considered major losses at the time and Pittman believes they are all replaceable as his program marches into spring football.

"Then you have a good feeling of what your value has to be and we've done really good in the portal, and we did this year too," Pittman said. "But, you've got to be willing to take the heat, heat that all hell's breaking loose. And you lost this guy, this guy. And it doesn't matter whether the guy was a really good player, or he was a player from the state of Arkansas, or whatever, it's going to be an uproar."

One example of fan uproar was wide receiver Dazmin James' situation after he broke Arkansas' program record for longest catch with a 94-yard touchdown reception during the Razorbacks' 39-26 win over Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl. He caught three balls for for 137 yards and decided to enter the transfer portal just four days later, signing with the Cal Bears.

Arkansas WR Dazmin James hit 22.3 mph on his first career catch that went for a 94-yard TD. It marks the longest touchdown reception in Arkansas football history! #ReelSpeed 💨 pic.twitter.com/UWfj5jF4ZL

— Reel Analytics (@RAanalytics) December 28, 2024

While Pittman didn't specifically say he was talking about James, the discussion definitely applied to the situation that unfolded.

"Well, he had one catch for whatever," Pittman said. "He didn't play, but he played on special teams. The state, the negative people are going to come out and go, 'Oh my God, what's wrong, you know.

"And I'm going, 'we lost a guy that caught a ball in the first game of the season, and nobody knows that he might have come in and wanted an ungodly amount of money."

That goes back to bargaining power in a situation, a tight rope and narrow road where no one really is the victor. Pittman knows the type of funds he has and pays what he feels is right because it's not "his money."

"I'm going 'So if we did [offer ungodly money], we'd need a $45 million budget and it's not Monopoly money,'" Pittman said. "Collectives are from those folks that went out, worked and paid to the collective. It's not monopoly and I'm not about to spend it freely. I'm going to be educated on it, because it's not my money. And so there's a whole lot of stuff that goes into it."

If things are done appropriately, Pittman doesn't mind sitting down with his players and discussing options on how to figure out certain wages for anyone. He embraces the fact his Arkansas program has funds, but when it comes to large rosters, limitations are there to work within a budget without going over by millions.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman with Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Mike Gundy before their game at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. | Craven Whitlow-Hogs on SI Images

"There are still those kids who will sit down and go 'Coach, I know this is astronomical amount of money. What can you do?'" Pittman said. "Those type kids, they'll stay for us, and they'll play hard for [us], and we can match things too. It's not like we don't have money, but it becomes you have to fill a team, and you have so many, so much in finances to fill up your team."

He doesn't mind the hard meetings about raises here and there which he made a funny illustration on having an emergency fund.

"You always got to have a little money in the, you know, secret pocket," Pittman said. "When you get married, you got to always have something somewhere, a $100 hidden in the back of the wallet or something. You always got to have a little bit of that."

Four years into the NIL era, there is no perfect way to approach things with boosters on how to spend, give or raise money. It's all still fresh, new and often an annoying issue that everyone will have to be patient with as things develop.

"I don't think anybody's really figured it out without just saying, 'Alright, I'm gonna go in the collective and just go beg somebody give me some more money'" Pittman said. "Because it's not 100% that most money wins, but it's a high percentage."

Watch the full length interview with Pittman and hosts that went live Wednesday evening.

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