Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti Highlights Transfer Portal Money Frenzy In Interview

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When the final hearing for the House settlement was set for April 7, many football coaches hoped the settlement would be approved that day or shortly afterward.

Why? With the second football transfer portal set to open April 16, football coaches didn’t want to go through what basketball coaches have gone through in their portal.

The primary feature of the House settlement is a revenue-sharing component for college athletics that would enable universities to directly pay athletes out of a $20 million pool.

The other important aspect of the House settlement is the NIL clearinghouse. Any NIL deal signed with an outside party over $600 would be subject to a “fair market value” test.

Since no one knows how accounting firm Deloitte will determine “fair market value,” the race to get deals signed before the House settlement came into effect became a frenzy. Any NIL deal agreed to and paid before the House settlement goes into effect will not be subject to the clearinghouse.

With college transfers seeking the best possible financial deal, prices for transfers have dramatically risen. Budgets for player compensation have doubled at many schools.

With football driving the revenue train at most schools, the lack of a resolution in the House settlement has had a similar effect on football.

In an interview with CBSSports.com, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti noted that the delay in the House settlement decision has had a profound effect on money spent.

“This is an unprecedented couple days, weeks, where everybody's waiting on this rev share, and the five or six out there that have unlimited NIL resources, it's kind of scary for everybody else,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti said Indiana was well-funded, but not in the same galaxy as the most monied schools. Cignetti said that the richest schools are spending $40 million to stock their rosters.

“I think our little pot of gold is pretty nice, but we're not at $40 million. Or $30 million. Or even $25 million,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti surmised that Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Texas Tech, Notre Dame and Miami were the biggest spenders.

“Those people are kind of playing their own game, but you've got to be in that next tier," Cignetti said. "There are enough good ones out there. You've got to be able to retain your good ones and then go get what you need.”

The CBS Sports story said that the market for players has doubled even since the December window was open. The CBS story cited an agent who said a top tackle could demand $1-$1.5 million in December. Now those players are demanding $2-$2.5 million.

The football portal closes Friday, but players can be signed at any time. Until the House settlement is approved or not, financial chaos will continue to be the lay of the land as the transfer portal is concerned.

“These next couple weeks, who knows how long until this thing gets passed because there's some crazy stuff going on,” Cignetti told CBS.

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