Lane Kiffin suggests Alabama's Bryce Young 'would make 10 times' NIL money in the portal

Talks involving NIL and its impact on college football have dominated the SEC recently, with Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher recently reaching a breaking point. There have been several discussions since then on where the sport is heading and everyone voicing their opinion. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is no different but he seems to have a different tune than what Saban and Fisher are asking for.

Based on a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Kiffin thinks the players should have some leverage over programs, especially when it comes to big-time players. He had a wid suggestion when it came to Bryce Young, saying if the Alabama quarterback were to enter the transfer portal, he would have made 10 times the money he is now. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner would have no doubt been a popular customer in the open market and could have hypothetically gotten himself a lot of money.

“Why did Bryce Young not go into the portal?,” Kiffin said. “If you are advising Bryce Young, why do you not go into the portal and walk into Nick Saban’s office and say, ‘Hey, I want to be here, but I’ve got to protect myself so I’m going to go into the portal. And I want to come back as long as it’s matched with what I get out there.’ The kid would make 10 times what he would have made. How’s that not going to happen all the time? It should. It will.”

According to the On3 NIL 100, Young is the second most valuable player in college athletics, just behind Bronny James. Young has a valuation of $3.1 million, a number that’s only growing as he enters his second season as the starting quarterback at Alabama.

Had Young entered the transfer portal, as Kiffin half-heartedly suggested, some of the top programs in the country would have lined up top dollar deals to land him. Before he had even taken a starting snap with the Crimson Tide, Saban said Young was already making seven figures in NIL deals.

Factor in what he was able to accomplish last season and the possibilities would have been quite endless for Young.

However, Kiffin was looking not just at Young, but the big picture and discussing top-level college football players as a whole. If there is an opportunity to make top dollar, the Ole Miss head coach is in favor of players going out there and earning it. Even if leaving a program they committed to out of high school is the consequence.