We live in an unprecedented time for college and professional football. As a fan of the college and professional levels of football, right now, it’s hard to want to watch games with all of the politics in player movement. We are in the 4th season where name, image and likeness has been implemented, and there is still much to be developed. NIL payment ensures college players will be compensated for the use of their name. While this is great and has been a long time coming, it is causing problematic ripple effects to the NFL. 

The problem begins when 18-year-old kids have access to millions of dollars during their first year of true independence. They are left to make decisions alone and become reliant on mass amounts of money.

The mistake the NCAA made was not looking at a successful model, like the NFL, and trying to replicate it. The NFL has a salary cap, which creates equality among the teams, and has structured contracts with all players. In college, there is no base salary; it is up to each school to have an NIL fund, which leads to players following money rather than their best chance to train and develop. And of course, there is the transfer portal.  

When the money goes away, players transfer and follow it. Brice Underwood, the University of Michigan’s new quarterback, was committed to Louisiana State University, a historically great program, but when the University of Michigan came with $10 million, his mind changed. Underwood has played in two games and is making more than some starting NFL players. 

Each university and college should have a set amount of money for players, and when a player commits. They need to sign a contract ensuring they will not transfer and to spread the money out over an agreed-upon amount of time, preventing them from transferring solely for money. 

All of the inflated expectations being built in college are detrimental to the NFL. When players get to the NFL, they are used to so much money that they demand or expect a higher salary. Take Shemar Stewart and the Cincinnati Bengals, for example. He was making $4 million in college; he could make more than in the NFL, but because of contract wording, he didn’t want to sign. Before NIL, most players would sign anyway, but Stewart was making so much in college that he threatened to go back and play at the college level. 

Stories like these are only going to become more common. Professional contracts will never be the same; there will be more disputes, demand for higher pay and longer holdouts. Eventually, there will be a breaking point where there’s just not enough money to accommodate the NIL mentality of the new generation of players. 

However, it could be argued that this could be good for college football because players will stay longer, not leaving for a payday. I don’t buy it. Players now are not as well developed as in the past. They jump from school to school for the next payday, and then at the end of that, they head to the NFL. 

Every year, the transfer portal numbers grow. As of May, there are a record-setting 3,400 players, only including college football, in the portal. The NCAA needs to find a way to help and guide these young men through the sudden acquisition of massive amounts of money. Leaving 18 to 21-year-old men to fend for themselves is bound to fail, and changes must be made. 

The NCAA needs to implement contracts; yes, there are legal hurdles, but they need to advocate for the players first and foremost. Salary caps must be implemented, and they need to account for the players’ well-being and futures. If the NCAA doesn’t act, college football risks losing the very thing that made it special, the game and passion for it. 

Meagan Larick is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Meagan about her column? Email her at ml386724@ohio.edu.