‘Do not contact’ tag in college football transfer portal: What it means & why it’s used

This year's lone NCAA transfer portal window officially opened on Friday, as thousands of players across the country look for an opportunity to find a new place to call home.

The transfer portal as a whole is the wild west reincarnated and on steroids, as just about anything can happen. According to On3, last year's portal cycles saw 4,184 players enter their name, with 68% of them committing to a new school while just 3.61% withdrew their names. Where things get complicated is the fact that a player can enter his name into the portal, but not find a landing spot for himself somewhere else. It also doesn't mean that a player has to leave, but schools aren't obligated to preserve their place on the team if they don't want to.

However, the transfer portal experience varies for every player. While some athletes risk their careers by entering, others will have some of the biggest schools in the country throwing significant money at them.

The latter being one of the main reasons we see what is called a "do not contact" tag. Notable players such as Sam Leavitt (Arizona State), Isaac Brown (Louisville) and Luke Reynolds (Penn State) have entered their names into the portal with the tag, but what does that mean?

For the select few players who are good enough to take that risk it means one of two things: they either have an idea of where they are going, or they will be in contact with the schools that interest them.

ASU Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt (10). — ASU Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) scrambles out of the backfield against the Houston Cougars at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Oct. 25, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While many will be outraged or naive about the matter, programs have been in touch with players months before the portal's opening. Any inclination that the player might enter the portal throughout the year, whether it's Leavitt getting hurt and his season ending prematurely or James Franklin being fired from Penn State, programs around the country find ways to stay in contact with the star players.

Again, this likely doesn't apply to the backup quarterback leaving a Group of Five program, but not all situations are the same. For a player like Leavitt or Brown, they have a chance to essentially go to a school, see what it offers in terms of development, and also see how much it will offer. They then can go to another program and see if they will match or top the offer, and can control the bidding war over themselves.

The January portal window runs through Jan. 16 this year, and unlike in years past, there will be no spring window. So, once a player decides their next move, they have to live with it.