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Mickey Joseph Advocates for Player Buyouts in College Football

The former Husker and current Grambling State head football coach wants compensation for schools when a player decides to transfer somewhere else.
Kaleb Henry|
Coach Mickey Joseph watches his Nebraska team play the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2022.
Coach Mickey Joseph watches his Nebraska team play the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2022. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

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Nebraska CornhuskersGrambling State Tigers

College football continues to evolve.

In the lifespan of the sport, the transfer portal and name, image, likeness being allowed are just in their infancy. But that doesn't mean changes aren't likely to happen quickly for both.

With the House settlement approaching this next week and a number of rule changes to follow - namely revenue sharing and roster limits - one former Husker quarterback and coach is calling for another rule to help out smaller schools.

Mickey Joseph, currently the Grambling State head coach, would like to see buyouts in place.

"I think there needs to be a buyout," Joseph said earlier this week. "If they move up from me and go to a Group of Five or a Power Five, I should get kind of a compensation for that. NCAA, if you're listening to me, I need a buyout."

Joseph reiterated that the current model places a premium on having a good year and then making the most of your situation, especially from the schools with less funding for NIL and the upcoming revenue sharing.

"We understand and I think the players understand that if they're here, and if they're sophomores and if they have a big year, a Group of Five or a Power Five approach them and they have the finances to pull them out of that and I can't match the finances, then you know what, they're gonna go," Joseph said.

An argument from the pro-player movement and NIL side has tended to point to how coaches have been allowed to pick up and leave at anytime, even with contacts. That's something Joseph understands.

"Coaches have been doing it for years," Joseph said. "We shouldn't get mad as coaches when these kids make decisions to take care of their family. I'm gonna say it again, coaches have been doing it for years."

Nebraska Cornhuskers interim head coach Mickey Joseph pumps up the crowd as the team exits the tunnel.
Mickey Joseph leads the Huskers onto the field before a 2022 home game. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The current terms of the settlement call for roster limits, revenue sharing at schools that are opted in, and back payments to the tune of nearly $2.6 billion to current and former student athletes who competed in Division I since 2016. There is also a newly assembled committee to figure out the actual implementation of the settlement and what comes next.

The settlement does does not address collective bargaining or the subject of athletes as employees, either of which would be a step toward contracts and enforceable buyouts.

More on the House settlement can be found here.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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