Brian Kelly calls out Big 12 coaches amid revenue share changes: 'I don't think you should be complaining about anything'

It has now been multiple seasons where NIL and the Transfer Portal have reshaped college sports. During that time, it has become an extensively debated topic and, once again, several coaches at Big 12 media days raised concerns about the future of college football.

Among others, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy argued, “The money aspect has to go to the side.” Meanwhile, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes called for, “adults to be adults” and enforcement to have “teeth.” That’s something that LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly took note of, and pushed back on when he had the chance at SEC Media Days. There, he called out Big 12 coaches broadly, saying there shouldn’t be complaints right now.

“We are in the best place that we’ve been in a number of years,” Brian Kelly said. “It’s the first step. We’re not at the end. I listen to some of our brothers at the Big 12 complaining where we are at, I was like ‘I don’t think you should be complaining about anything.'”

"I listen to some of our brothers at the Big 12 complaining where we are at, I was like ‘I don't think you should be complaining about anything.’”@CoachBrianKelly spoke with @ChildersRadio & @CoachNeuheisel about the state of college football after the house settlement. pic.twitter.com/oWgF5zFCyh

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) July 14, 2025

The House settlement took effect on July 1st, and is still a new change that coaches are adjusting to. It allows for revenue sharing between schools and athletes of up to $20.5 million. On top of that, it looked to create the guardrails that many coaches have been asking for. NIL deals above $600 will need third-party approval and will be sent to a new clearinghouse called NIL Go. On top of that, there will be a new enforcement agency.

The House settlement is a major change for college athletics, and one that is changing the sport. However, Brian Kelly thinks it’s just the first step toward getting athletics where they need to be for the future.

“I think we have some guardrails. We have some direction. Revenue sharing helps that. I love the fact that the players are going to get a piece of this. I think it’s great. They’re going to get their families to see them play every game. They’re going to put them up in hotels and have rental vehicles or leased vehicles. I think it’s a great thing, but it’s the first step. We’ve got some work to do. There’s no question, but I’m bullish on where we are,” Kelly said.

“Again, as you mentioned, I’ve been doing it forever… But 31 years of being a head coach. You have different cycles. We’ve lived through maybe a bit of the difficult part, but I like where we’re going.”

The reality is that more changes beyond House are likely on the way. That includes potential legislation at the federal level. Others, like ESPN’s Rece Davis, have even suggested collective bargaining and employment. Still, as Kelly pointed out, progress has been made toward some stability and it’s worth seeing how things shake out from here.