The NCAA was criticized for years for not addressing the issues surrounding NIL. But now that colleges are allowed to pay players, many are criticizing the organization for spoiling the athletes. It shows how tricky the problem is, how college football still hasn’t figured it out, and why former players like Johnny Manziel have started to chime in with their own takes.
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It’s not just Manziel, though. His co-host on his podcast, AJ McCarron, has also been getting on his soapbox recently about NIL. McCarron was a four-year starting QB for the University of Alabama from 2010 to 2013. During his time there, he won two national titles with Nick Saban.
When the topic of NIL came up on a recent edition of their podcast, Glory Daze, McCarron and Manziel criticized the current format plentifully.
“College is so different from the NFL. Because when you’re getting paid in the NFL and you don’t perform, you lose your job,” McCarron stated. “There isn’t guys getting cut in college. They’re just able to free agency every year.”
It was a good point that prompted an immediate response from Manziel.
“Somebody else will pick them up and give them everything that they want. Tell them how amazing they are, and give them the recruiting pitch to go somewhere else. And then they’ll just leave, and it’ll be like that never even happened,” Manziel chimed in.
When NIL was first introduced into college sports, nobody knew exactly how it was going to work. But now that it’s here, many don’t like how easy it is for players to transfer to different schools and get paid elsewhere. This is because, along with the introduction of NIL, the NCAA also loosened the rules around the transfer portal. This all but allowed players to play in their immediate first season with their new team.
With all this in mind, McCarron wants to go back to the true format of NIL when people were first thinking about it. He used Manziel’s college experience as a prime example.
“I think we have a serious issue with the college game of one, it not being like, if we’re going to pay him, go back to the true form of NIL. Where, alright, Manziel should’ve gotten a cut of every #2 A&M jersey that was out,” McCarron reasoned.
“The NCAA during our time kept saying, ‘Oh, well, we’re not using your name, image, and likeness.’ But you could go on the NCAA website, type in Johnny Manziel, and the #2 Texas A&M jersey would pop up,” he continued.
It was something that the NCAA got away with for years. Rather than giving its players a cut of their earnings for jerseys being sold that were tied to their number, they simply dodged the ordeal by stating that, without a last name, it’s not violating anything. It drove players like Manziel to earn extra money through alternative, illegal avenues.
Aside from that, McCarron also hates how the transfer portal doesn’t foster winning anymore.
“When it’s not incentive-based pay, and you’re just paying these kids guaranteed money. Like, what’s pushing them to go out and achieve anything? Hell, they got everything they want. Winning for us during our time was the only thing that mattered… You played hard for the name on your back, the school, and every guy next to you,” McCarron said.
The former QB was preaching to the choir, and all Manziel wanted to do was sit back and listen. After all, it’s a bit strange and worrisome the mindset that we’re instilling in these young athletes. Money should be earned, not a given. But nowadays, it feels like the latter is more true than ever, especially in college football.
Because of this, McCarron worries that teams will struggle to build strong, powerhouse programs that are consistent.
“That’s the issue. I don’t know if you have enough of those guys that are building a brotherhood and a culture in this day and age of football. Because everyone is a mercenary and able to just leave year in and year out,” McCarron argued.
Later on, the former Crimson Tide QB even showed some love to an old coaching rival he once played against.
“I think that’s why people gave sh*t to Dabo Swinney about not going to the portal for so long. But when you look at it, Clemson’s probably been the most consistent team year in and year out of at least being able to make the playoffs. Or be up there in the conversation. And this is a guy, a coach, that truly believed in brotherhood, culture, and is still staying with that standard.”
Under Dabo, Clemson has had only one losing season in 18 years. It’s been an unprecedented run of success that includes five College Football Playoff appearances and two national titles. But now, Clemson is 1-3, and Swinney is starting to be criticized for only recently turning to the portal more.
All in all, it was an interesting discussion that McCarron and Manziel had. During some parts, it came off a bit like an old man yelling at the sky. Yet, at the same time, it painted an important perspective on why NIL may be doing more harm than good. And we may not see the full ramifications until years down the line, when it could be too late to preserve the dignity of college sports.
