The NCAA is Exploring Ways to Crackdown on NIL Deals
"Tampering" is a word that I never thought would be used in conjunction with college football like it is being thrown around today. Since the introduction of the NCAA transfer portal and the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) legislation released by the NCAA last summer, the state of college athletics is evolving at a rapid rate.
News broke over the weekend that Pittsburgh wide receiver Jordan Addison was considering entering the transfer portal. Addison, a junior, is fresh off a sophomore season that saw him win the Biletnikoff Award, annually awarded to the "best wide receiver" in college football. Addison led the Panthers with 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns. Not long after the initial breaking of the news, the University of Southern California was named as a leading candidate to land the top receiver in the portal.
Since the hiring of former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans have been on a transfer portal spree, currently landing 14 players from the portal. After competing for national championships in the early 2000s, USC has been seen as a sleeping giant since the departure of head coach Pete Carroll, and now with a successful coach in Riley and an advantageous location near Los Angeles, the Trojans are taking advantage of their potential to have players with lucrative NIL deals.
Sports Illustrated's Mike McDaniel reported on Saturday that Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi suspects the Trojans of having "tampered by reaching out to Addison prior to him entering the transfer portal."
"Narduzzi reportedly contacted USC coach Lincoln Riley to express his displeasure with the situation and the school’s rumored contact with Addison before he enters the portal, which would set a poor ethical standard in a time where NIL legislation has brought unprecedented change to the sport."
- Mike McDaniel
With this not being the first time this offseason that Lincoln Riley's Trojans have been accused of potentially tampering with players who were not in the portal at the time, the NCAA seems to be preparing to enact more guidelines, specifically regarding tampering and the involvement of boosters in striking NIL deals.
SI's Ross Dellenger reported Tuesday evening that a task force is working on issuing new guidelines on the involvement of boosters.
"University administrators, part of a task force to review NIL, are finalizing additional guidelines that are expected to clarify that boosters and booster-led collectives are prohibited from involvement in recruiting, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated. The guidelines will provide more guidance to member schools on what many administrators say are NIL-disguised “pay for play” deals orchestrated by donors to induce prospects, recruit players off other college teams and retain their own athletes."
- Ross Dellenger
These new initiatives are going to target the "pay-to-play" schemes that are taking college football recruiting by storm as of late, especially in the transfer portal. If the NCAA proceeds to issue new guidelines it will put some at ease of a worry that the transfer portal is turning into the NBA's free agency.
Most of the powers at be — outside of programs taking the extreme avenues of acquiring talent made available through an unsanctioned NIL Market — are currently up in arms. Jere Morehead, President of the University of Georgia being the spearhead for this discussion surrounding the need for governance around NIL.
“There’s serious concern about where NIL has progressed from what was originally intended to some of the stories that you hear today. We have, I think, a high level of urgency to review that issue. But we also have to be cautious and careful because of litigation and potential litigation around any rules that the NCAA sets at a national level.” - Jere Morehead on NIL Impact
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