This college football team is creatively approaching NIL like NFL free agency

The way college football operates in the NIL/revenue-sharing era has moved a lot closer to the NFL model, and one high-profile program is acknowledging that in a very public way.

USC has been announcing on social media that players have "re-signed" with the program, essentially acknowledging that all college football players are free agents each year now, thanks to the transfer portal and the ability to chase better compensation elsewhere.

A big one for the Trojans this week was quarterback Jayden Maiava's decision to return to USC rather than pursue the NFL draft this year or a bigger payday from another school, but USC has publicized the return of more than two dozen players in this way -- from starters to little-used freshmen and even its kicker.

Jayden Maiava has re-signed with the USC Trojans. pic.twitter.com/jLI0S6hPKh
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) December 16, 2025

Coach Lincoln Riley was asked about this new approach for his program.

"I think that's something that should be celebrated. In this day and age, it's almost more like an NFL team. Like, it's an accomplishment to be welcomed back, and then on top of that, when you do have that option, it's something that should be celebrated by a school or a program that somebody wants to continue on what's being built or what they've already started at that place," Riley said.

"... It's changed so much on all accounts. It's changed a lot for the players. It's obviously changed a lot for us."

USC overhauled its player personnel/recruiting department a year ago by hiring general manager Chad Bowden away from Notre Dame and building a new staff for him. Bowden has a reputation for thinking outside the box, so this was likely an idea that he and his staff came up with for the Trojans.

College football analyst Adam Breneman chimed in with his thoughts on USC's "creative" approach to roster management.

"To me, USC has always been known for creativity. They're in Los Angeles, the creative capital of the world, that's where great things happen, and a great job here by USC's creative department, having this idea. I think we'll see teams around the country copy this, announcing the re-signing of players to new contracts for the upcoming season with NIL and rev-share deals," Breneman said.

"Chad Bowden, the USC general manager, is ahead of his time. He's innovative, he thinks forward, he's proactive, and his staff clearly has something here, really great with announcing the re-signing of the roster at USC. What a great idea."

USC may have indeed started something with this, as Missouri announced the return of star running back Ahmad Hardy in the same way.

More schools are following USC’s lead with re-signings https://t.co/ri5GnwgqjJ
— Ryan Kartje (@RyanKartje) December 20, 2025