Greg Sankey discusses need for national legislation on NIL

Greg Sankey had some strong opinions on the need for national legislation on NIL during SEC meetings in Destin, Florida.

During a meeting with the media, the SEC commissioner spoke about the issue, stating that an over-arching law would be better than the patchwork fixes that are currently in-place.

“I’m like in Year 35 working in this area, and I don’t recall having had state laws adopted that said you will conduct your athletics program in this way. That’s happened in different ways,” began Sankey. “One of our conversations is if you go back to 2019, 2020 — we said we don’t want a patchwork of state laws to onboard this activity. Do we still feel this way? And so far the answer has been yes, we don’t want that.”

“But that’s out reality. Whether or not members on congress choose to act in establishing a national standard which would overcome that patchwork, that remains to be seen. I’m in an educational mode, and willing to have dialogue to learn about concerns which I can read. .. So, I think we’re trying to figure out right now what is it that we actually view as necessary, and then we’ll go through the legal analysis of what’s appropriate, and then engage with our lawmakers to see if there’s an outcome. .. But all of that is in-question.”

As you can see, the future of NIL is still very much in-question. Regardless, Greg Sankey will explore all avenues for the SEC moving forward.

Greg Sankey: ‘We have to think about’ CFP format ahead of 2025 deadline

The hottest point of conversation last summer was the possibility of College Football Playoff expansion, however a series of meetings led to nothing and placed the postseason on the back burner while NIL and transfer portal issues dominated the headlines. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey believes the gap in negotiations and halt in talks could prove dangerous as a deadline approaches.

During the SEC meetings in Destin, Florida, Greg Sankey told reporters that ‘we have to think about’ the CFP contract before it runs out in 2025. Sankey also mentioned that the rumored SEC College Football playoff wasn’t meant as a threat but as part of that preparation.

“After 2025 there is nothing,” said Sankey, via The Athletic’s Seth Emerson. “Literally nothing. … It was not created as a threat. It is not intended as a threat.”

The reported sticking points of past negotiations centered on the number of teams and the presence of automatic qualifiers in the field. Some wanted 12 teams, while others wanted to remain at four or move to eight. In addition, many conferences wanted to add automatic qualifiers like the NCAA Tournament in many sports.

According to Sankey, the 12-team proposal is dead, but the eight-team format could move forward with the support of the SEC as long as they do not include the automatic qualifiers. The SEC is the only conference to place multiple teams in the current four-team format and could stand to place even more if the playoffs expand without requirements to include other representatives.