North Carolina GM Michael Lombardi reveals why he encourages players to discuss NIL deals with him: 'That's part of growing up'

North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi, who was new Tar Heels head football coach Bill Belichick‘s first official staff addition, is embracing the “professional” side of college football. Specifically, he is doing that as it pertains to name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities.

Lombardi discussed North Carolina‘s new open-door policy when it comes to NIL and helping Tar Heels football players to further take advantage of money-making opportunities during their time in Chapel Hill. It’s clear the door is wide open.

“I tell every kid that comes into my office looking for a NIL deal, ‘Don’t be shy, come in here, this is professional football,'” Lombari said on Thursday’s The Pat McAfee Show. “What I’m trying to help them with is standing up for themselves. I’m not saying I’m going to tell them ‘Yes’ to what they want, but they’re going to have to have enough guts to walk into he room and say, ‘this is what I’m looking for.’ That’s part of growing up, that’s part of being a professional.

“We are a professional business, and the relationship they and I have has to be based purely on honesty. I can’t lie to any of these kids. I might not tell them what they want to hear, but I’m going to tell them the truth based on what I’ve seen. So that’s part of this whole thing. I really believe that that’s the kind of culture that we’re in, and that makes it a lot easier. These young kids, they’re impressionable.”

And in his role as North Carolina’s general manager, Lombardi is laying down the law as it relates to how UNC football players can best make the most of their NIL opportunities. Basically, Lombardi’s door is always open, but players should make sure to have a body of work to promote before seeking a payday.

“I think it’s really important for me to convince the kids they have to stand up for themselves, and they’ve got to speak for themselves. Also, I think it’s important that they understand that nobody’s paying in any world, whether its in the professional world or college, for speculation. Everybody is paying for performance. Past performance predicts future achievement,” Lombardi said. “If you have an ability to play well as a freshman, you will gradually work your way up the salary structure within a college framework. But if you haven’t done anything, don’t come knocking on my door looking for money, because there’s no performance. It’s all based on performance. And you’ve got to do it. … Everything is based on performance, and at North Carolina it’s based on performance and you earn it. No matter if you’re a walk-on or a scholarship player, you’ve got to earn it.”

Drew Rosenhaus calls for NIL transparency, structure amid college football chaos

Drew Rosenhaus, owner of Miami-based sports agency Rosenhaus Sports, has already negotiated more than $7 billion in NFL contracts over the past three decades in the business. Now, with the growth of NIL in college football, as well as pending revenue-sharing with student-athletes stemming from the House vs. NCAA case, Rosenhaus and his agency are officially all-in on the collegiate ranks. Not that it’s a perfect system, of course.

During last Thursday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Rosenhaus explained how his agency has evolved amid college football’s changing landscape in the age of NIL and the transfer portal. Rosenhaus even proposed potential ways to further regulate the sport moving forward.

“Absolutely. In any system we need structure. Every other professional league has rules,” Rosenhaus said. “(The NFL has) a cap, we have a structure, we have a draft order, we have waivers, we have trade deadlines. This doesn’t exist in college football. So it is very chaotic.

“Let’s have transparency, let’s know what guys are being paid, what the schools are working with,” Rosenhaus concluded. “I think transparency is huge and sharing information is a big deal. … There’s a lot of issues. Let’s do it the right way. Let’s have legit contracts, let’s know what everybody is making, and let’s work for the players and colleges and make it a good system for everyone.”