Troy Aikman 'done with NIL' after giving money to UCLA player who left after a year

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman is joining a vocal contingent of college football boosters that are done shelling out big bucks for NIL. The former Oklahoma and UCLA quarterback opened up about his distaste for NIL during a recent appearance on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast.

Amid a wide-ranging discussion that began talking about the chaotic divorce between new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, Aikman — who transferred from Oklahoma to UCLA following the 1985 season after losing his starting job in Norman — agreed players should have the ability to transfer, especially if their head coach bails for another job. That led into a wider discussion about NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal, with ABC’s Monday Night Football color analyst calling for greater accountability for players that accept NIL money and then transfer to another program.

SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter

“There’s gotta be some leadership at the very top that kind of cleans all of this up. Starting with players that accept money. There’s gotta be some accountability and responsibility on their behalf, to have to stick to a program,” Aikman told Deitsch on Monday’s episode. “I gave money to a kid, I won’t mention who. I’ve done it one time at UCLA, never met the young man. He was there a year, he left after the year. I wrote a sizable check, and he went to another school.

“I didn’t even get so much as a thank you note. So, it’s one of those deals, to where I’m done with NIL. I want to see UCLA be successful, but I’m done with it.”

Of course, Aikman didn’t name the player in question. But based on UCLA’s recent transfer history, he may have been referring to Oregon redshirt sophomore quarterback Dante Moore, who started five games for the Bruins as a true freshman in 2023 before entering the NCAA Transfer Portal and signing with the Ducks the following offseason. After redshirting behind Dillon Gabriel in 2023, Moore took over as Oregon’s starting quarterback this season, finishing the regular season ranked third nationally with a 72.5 completion percentage to go along with 2,733 passing yards and 24 touchdowns to just six interceptions for the No. 5 Ducks (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten).

Of course, last offseason, UCLA found itself on the other side of the situation when the Bruins landed former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava out of the transfer portal in April after the former five-star recruit attempted to renegotiate his NIL agreement with the Volunteers in the midst of Spring practice.