Joe Montana Interview Series: How to Fix College Football NIL

The DNA of college football has changed significantly in recent years, as the transfer portal and NIL have taken over.

Players now have the chance to earn significant money while having the ability to move from program to program without losing any years of eligibility.

While those developments have allowed players to make money, sometimes life-changing amounts at that, it has also changed the competitive landscape across the sport.

Notre Dame great Joe Montana understands why players would take advantage of these new opportunities, but also feels the sport needs some restrictions.

This past Saturday, I sat down with Montana and asked if his story at Notre Dame (where he went from being buried on the depth chart to the starting quarterback of a national champion) would have been different with today's transfer portal and NIL rules.

He was kind enough to take a break from slinging Guinness to fans for a bit as we discussed that and much else.

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Joe Montana Discusses NIL/Transfer Portal

"It's hard when money is involved," said Montana. "I think it'd be different if there wasn't any cash involved in a deal and moving people, otherwise, there wouldn't be a reason to leave, but if someone is going to pay you more, those kids are going to go. And who wouldn't go? Especially if you're going to get a chance to play and you're going to get paid."

Montana clearly wasn't criticizing anyone for choosing the money over loyalty. Like when an NFL team offers someone more in free agency, it's difficult to blame someone for making a move.

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Joe Montana Wants Salary Cap for College Football

His bigger concern is what has happened with roster construction in college football, and how much financial resources have impacted a school's ability to compete.

"The NCAA has to do something where they find a way to get a salary cap or some way to keep some of those schools and those teams for paying for everybody," Montana said. "Some schools just aren't willing to or capable of putting up the money that's necessary to make the program capable of winning, so they've got to find a way to limit it."

Impact of a Salary Cap to College Football

If a salary cap did come into play, then only more questions would come of actual rule enforcement, revenue distribution across non-football sports, and the overall differences in finances between athletic programs.

Still, Montana's message is clear.

He's not suggesting in the least bit that players should turn down financial opportunities but instead sees college football as needing to establish some kind of boundaries.

And even with his career that required him to wait, and wait, and wait at Notre Dame, Montana recognizes just how much the game has changed.

It's a unique perspective as Montana is perhaps the ultimate success story for gutting it through growing pains as a young player before ultimately taking the bull by the horns when he was finally given his chance at one program.

It's also noteworthy that Montana's solution certainly wouldn't be easy to implement.

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