James Franklin predicts all of college football will be run by new entity

College football has been going through some massive changes. Penn State head coach James Franklin doesn’t think the sport is done, though. In fact, he expects major college football to be run by a new entity.

During an appearance on The Triple Option, Franklin shared his understanding of the new enforcement agency that has been set up by the House settlement. Franklin made headlines with his stance.

“The way I kind of understand it is this is revenue sharing rules and NIL rules kind of are all under this umbrella,” Franklin said. “But I would also say that I really think it’s pretty much going to be everything. I think football is going to be run by this entity. I don’t want to use the term that we’re breaking away. But I think football is going to be run by this entity.”

Part of the House settlement is an effort to set what is seen as a fair market for NIL deals. That’s going to mean NIL deals above $600 will need third-party approval. NIL Go, a new clearinghouse that Deloitte is going to oversee, has been set up to approve those deals. Then, the settlement also established a new enforcement agency called the College Sports Commission. It will be that agency’s job to investigate those deals and potential violations.

That is currently the extent of the College Sports Commission. However, James Franklin does think that it could extend to everything else for the highest level of college football.

“Yeah, I think at the end of the day, everything is going to fall under this umbrella,” Franklin said. “Because the reality is, right now, it’s going to be the Big Ten commissioner, the SEC commissioner, and this entity. People are going to get upset when I say that, but they’re going to be the ones running it and, obviously, other commissioners from other conferences are going to have a voice as well.”

A major reason for Franklin’s prediction is the difference between top-end schools and lower-end ones. What they’re looking for and what they can do is simply different, which is why he expects those major changes.

“But, I think the challenge is in the old days under the NCAA structure, Penn State would have a vote, Ohio State would have a vote, they’d be the same,” Franklin said. “But then, an FCS school or smaller school would have a similar vote under the NCAA structure that we would. You’d be trying to get things passed and you’d be trying to get rules involved and they were trying to treat us all the same and we’re not. So, I think we’re trying to get to more of a structure now where we’re making decisions that are in the best interest of major college football, and I think we’re close to achieving that from the way it’s being described to me.”

For the time being, schools are going to adjust to their new life under the House settlement. After that, it’s still a bit of a mystery what comes next for college football.