Paul Finebaum shares concern over growing NIL gap between Big Ten, SEC schools

The Indiana Hoosiers are national champions. Just a few years ago, that was seemingly impossible. Now, it’s reality, as they become the third straight Big Ten school to win a national championship.

In the wake of that national championship, the SEC is facing a near existential threat from the Big Ten. Paul Finebaum knows that concern very well. In particular, a growing concern over an NIL gap between SEC and Big Ten schools, which Finebaum explained on The Matt Barrie Show.

“We’re talking billionaires now,” Paul Finebaum said. “Outside of Texas and Texas A&M, the list of billionaires starts to get really thin. I can tell you, in the state of Alabama, there are two billionaires. Only two in the entire state. They’re both Auburn supporters. Alabama doesn’t have a billionaire. And why is a billionaire important, Matt? Because they can throw around money.”

The wealth of Indiana’s donors was on display during the National Championship Game. In particular, Mark Cuban. It’s part of the story of Indiana’s success, which has also been shaped by Curt Cignetti as a head coach, the Transfer Portal, and an expanded College Football Playoff. Still, it’s a reminder of the level of donors many Big Ten schools have.

“You can throw around money if you’re worth $800 million too,” Finebaum said. “But it’s a little bit easier if you’re a billionaire not only to put your father’s name on the business school, but to give your NIL fund whatever it needs. You can’t call the commissioner of the SEC and say, ‘You have to solve this problem.’ You can’t print money unless you’ve got your keys to the printing press.”

In the past three seasons, the SEC has not even had a team play for a national championship. This has come as talent is spreading around the country, due to NIL and the Transfer Portal. That financial challenge is also something that is not about a mistake made as a conference. After all, as Finebaum pointed out, the league can’t create billionaire donors overnight.

“And it’s a problem,” Finebaum said. “People are theorizing on where did the SEC go wrong. I don’t think it’s a collective situation. It’s about a couple of schools. It’s about Alabama, it’s about Georgia, it’s about Texas, and Texas A&M. You can’t fix that by having meetings. You can’t fix that by going from 12 to 16 to 24. It’s all individual. Indiana didn’t — Indiana was helped by the Big Ten, but Indiana got to the national championship by itself.”

Nick Saban trolls Big Ten, provides hilarious reason they have NIL advantage

Paul Finebaum isn’t the only one who has noticed the Big Ten’s advantage over the SEC in the NIL space. Nick Saban is also well aware of that and recently trolled the Big Ten over it.

“In this day and age of the culture we have now in college football, paying players, name, image and likeness, transfer, it’s an advantage for the Big Ten,” Nick Saban said. “You’ll never convince me otherwise. The North. Because people in the South would not go to the North unless you paid them.”

Nick Saban was, obviously, taking some shots at the Big Ten. He did also admit, however, that there’s a benefit to the sport as a whole to have college football succeed in the North.

“It’s good for college football when teams like Indiana do what they’ve done,” Saban said. “I mean, it’s great for college football. Gives everybody hope that we can turn our program around, we can have success, and we have the right people in the right culture.

The SEC will look to put an end to that Big Ten dominance next season. Until then, it appears as though bragging rights have completely shifted in the sport.