Paul Finebaum on NCAA leaders calling for NIL reform: 'They're foolish, they're stupid'

The conversation around NIL took some interesting turns over the last few months. Monday morning, ESPN host Paul Finebaum weighed in with some poignant comments about how the NCAA would — or, maybe, wouldn’t — enforce a crackdown.

Finebaum joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning to discuss the NIL landscape before the NCAA released new guidance. Host Cole Cubelic referenced a story in The Athletic about a potential crackdown on NIL rules, and Finebaum didn’t seem convinced major change would happen.

“The comments in that article and the comments about cracking down are beyond the pale, Cole,” Finebaum said. “They’re beyond laughable. They’re foolish, they’re stupid and quite frankly, they have no merit. I guess it makes you feel good as an administrator to act like what is happening is wrong. The truth is what is happening right now is being permitted by the NCAA.

“Why does it take someone to say, ‘We need to get the Board of Directors to crack down? We need to make an example of somebody.’ This has been going on now for several months. I know NIL started nearly a year ago, but these collectives have been in the works for a couple of months now. Nobody has said a word.”

Paul Finebaum: ‘There is no one up there to crack down on anybody else’ regarding NIL

In the midst of his answer, Finebaum also shed some insight about potential reasons why the NCAA has had a hard time clamping down on collectives and boosters’ roles in recruiting.

“I spoke to someone the other day in reference to the NCAA and they said the NCAA enforcement division is down to about 15 to 20 people,” Finebaum said. “So if your enforcement division is down considerably, how in the world are you going to make an example out of anyone? … A lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. You will not see anybody cracked down upon because there is no one up there to crack down on anybody else.”

After Finebaum’s interview with McElroy and Cubelic, the NCAA Board of Directors released updated guidance about the roles NIL collectives and boosters can — and can’t — play. It was particularly pointed at recruiting, and the NCAA currently doesn’t allow boosters to be involved in that.

Now, it’s clarifying the rules to ensure that doesn’t happen, especially after reports surfaced about a potential NIL deal for former Pittsburgh wide receiver Jordan Addison if he decided to head to USC to play for Lincoln Riley.