College sports are very thrilling. Fans of different races, ages, and social status all come together as one to support their team or religiously hate another team, often at the same time. As a new era of college sports comes upon us, there have been many changes in the world of collegiate athletics. Is this change good or bad? Well, that’s the million dollar question.
In a world of passionate sports fans, opinions often collide; this is extremely prevalent in the case of college sports fans; they are extremely opinionated and emotional. This may be the case because many feel extremely connected to their own alma mater and even a relative or friends college or university that they once attended. With so much change in the college sports landscape there is bound to be mixed opinions, but one thing is for certain, if decisions are not made to preserve the game that we all love it will come crumbling down.
Two of the main changes in collegiate athletics are the paying of player through NIL and the use of the transfer portal.
The topic of Name, Image, and Likeness often referred to as (NIL), this is one of the more controversial issues in the world of college sports. NIL is the act of compensating amateur athletes with either direct payments or brand sponsorships because of their popularity and influence. Before July 1, 2021, collegiate athletes were prohibited from being compensated by their schools or any outside companies. Even a free meal at your favorite restaurant would get you a hefty punishment by the NCAA.
Reggie Bush, a former USC running back, won the 2005 Heisman, college football’s most prestigious award. He was then stripped of the award in 2010. This came after an investigation that alleged that he received illegal benefits from the university such as cash, travel, and a rent free home. Bush eventually was given back his Heisman trophy in 2024 and is now a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Bush spoke about how he felt after losing his Heisman, expressing, “That really took a really big shot at my confidence, who I am as a person, who I was as a player, what I stood for, because a lot of lies were being spread about me and about who I was. It was unfortunate because I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t do anything to deserve it.”
I can’t be the only one who finds it ironic that the very thing that was once frowned upon to the point of stripping a player of college football’s highest individual honor. In the present, it is now normal to offer superstar players millions of dollars coming out of high school and in the transfer portal. That is how much the measuring stick has moved on what is “fair” or not in collegiate athletics.
According to an article by Sports Illustrated, the highest paid collegiate athlete for the 2025-2026 sports seasons is Arch Manning, a quarterback for the University of Texas. His NIL valuation sits at a staggering 6.8 million dollars. To put into perspective how much Manning makes, Colston Loveland, a top ten pick in the 2025 NFL draft, is expected to make 4.84 million in his rookie season. This means that if you are enough of a collegiate superstar, it may be more lucrative for you to actually stay in college.
Another example is AJ Dybantsa, the top basketball recruit in the Class of 2025. This season he will be a freshman at Brigham Young University (BYU). Dybantsa is already at an NIL valuation of 4.1 million dollars, despite never playing a minute of college basketball. This may become the new norm for highly touted recruits across college sports. Bryce Underwood, a true freshman who is the starting quarterback for the University of Michigan, is making 12.5 million dollars over the course of a four-year deal, according to a separate article by Sports Illustrated. According this article this compensation package was reportedly put together by several high profile Michigan alumni in an attempt to flip Underwood’s commitment to LSU, and of course, it worked.
Incidents like these are some of the main reasons that fans hate the era of NIL, often claiming that college sports are now “pay to win” and that universities don’t need to establish a strong program to recruit the best talent. They can just pay them to come play and therefore the universities that have the deepest pockets and that are willing to put the most money into these athletic programs will have the most success.
Another controversy in college sports is in the transfer portal. Players have been moving teams more often than ever and some fans are upset with the lack of team continuity year to year. Some argue that high school recruiting in sports like basketball and football are becoming less important each year because colleges can pick up experienced transfers in the portal that already have plenty of college experience under their belt. For example, last year’s basketball National Championship winners Florida Gators had seven transfers, including some great contributors Rueben Chinyelu, Sam Alexis, Alijah Martin, and the tournament’s most outstanding player Walter Clayton Jr.
Lack of team continuity like this makes some coaches believe that it is impossible to build a team culture with players coming in and out each year. Some college football coaches have strong opinions about the transfer portal.
Seven time National Champion Nick Saban on record the transfer portal is a “microwave fix” and “anti-development.”
Kirby Smart, who has won two national championships himself, is concerned with the multitude of windows that allows players to transfer in and out of teams.
“The biggest decision that has to be made across football right now to me, by far, is when is the portal window and is there one or two,” commented Smart.
Even with concerns about the portal, coaches at big schools must admit that they benefit from the transfer portal the most. Smaller schools who develop special players now often loose them to a bigger school. They do this because of increased opportunities to play professionally, to earn more money (which ties back to NIL), and for more recognition and fame. Some claim that this creates a system where all good players funnel to the top teams and the lower level teams struggle to compete; creating a lack of parity in college sports.
My personal solution would be to implement a salary cap. If players want to get paid, they are no longer amateurs. Professionals get paid to do their job. By implementing a salary cap, an equal playing field is created while still allowing players to get paid what they have earned. With this salary cap, the NCAA will have to ban brand deals. This is because if you don’t ban brand deals teams will be setting up brand deals for their players as a way of paying them outside the salary cap.
With these changes, the transfer portal will be similar to free agency across pro sports. Transfers and high school players may be signed to multi-year deals so that they cannot leave in the portal. All of these changes will mirror rules and policies in professional leagues across the world. All of these changes create more organized and professional system for athletes and coaches to operate under.
As this new era of college sports continues, many sports leaders need to take action. Whether changes in the college sports landscape are good or bad is an opinion, but the fact of the matter is that we must adjust to them.
