Lane Kiffin suggests NCAA can use NFL model to deal with NIL issues

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is against talking about the impact NIL deals will have on the future of college football, providing the NFL as an example of what the future could hold. He believes the model he saw during his time with the Las Vegas Raiders makes more sense than the ‘free agency’ of 2022.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, Lane Kiffin provided his thoughts on how the NCAA could benefit from using a model closer to the NFL while dealing with NIL deals.

“There are all kinds of issues that are coming,” said Kiffin. “Let’s say reports are true, and some high school quarterback is making $6 to $8 million. How is that going to work? How is he coming into the locker room? Are the coaches going to need to play him, or are donors going to be mad when he’s not playing—the first-round pick that the donor drafts. I’ve been in that situation.

“The people paying that are going to want that guy to play. If he’s not playing, how is the backup quarterback who is earning just a scholarship check going to play over him?”

The issues created by the NIL collectives on campus across the country have been mentioned by many coaches who want to remain separate from the payments under current NCAA rules, but do not want the locker room to be negatively impacted by the money coming in.

Lane Kiffin on NFL model

In proposing changes that the NCAA could make, Lane Kiffin went in-depth on how the NFL model could work at keeping the pecking order of college football in balance without creating more chaos.

“You’ve got all kinds of issues to come, professional sports has done it for a long time,” said Kiffin. “They’ve figured it out. Ideally, there should be some type of cap. Different people are making different money, but there’s a reason for it.

“When they really figure it out, incoming guys get less. [The NFL] figured out the cap better in the rookie contracts years ago. The rookies were making more than the 10-year vets. They’ve fixed that. That’s a major problem [in college]. Right now, you’ve got good players who are returning starters not making anything because people are paying the ones coming in, trying to get them [in NIL bidding wars].

“People are going to criticize me for saying that ‘people are paying them to come in’ by saying that’s not what is happening. That is exactly what’s happening.”