Lane Kiffin shares how he handles differences in NIL payments among players

When NIL and paying student-athletes began to gain traction prior to its legalization in July of 2021, a talking point of those who did not support NIL was how uneven payment of players could cause friction in locker rooms.

Two years later that has not been nearly as major of a talking point surrounding NIL, but Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was asked at SEC Media Days how he manages the differences in player payments on his roster.

“Yeah, the question is about handling the locker room with the NIL issues, and the players getting paid different,” Kiffin said. “I try to teach our guys like real life, and you know, we say like pro mindset, like we have a pro mindset of how we run the program with our guys and the expectations.”

Players can strike up deals with any given business now thanks to name, image, and likeness. But with the rise of NIL collectives and boosters, players can now receive payment directly from the school. The figures of these payments differ from player to player, which Kiffin is handling with a tough love, professional approach.

“So I get it, because they come in complaining. You know, I’ve been here, or I transferred here and this guy is going to make more money than me. You know what, I’m not saying it’s fair, but get ready. That’s life. That’s going to happen. You’re going to be in an NFL locker room and you sign a contract, and this new guy — or you got drafted in the fourth round and this new guy coming in, you’re playing ahead of him, and he makes more money than you,” Kiffin said bluntly.

With the portal and with life, not all things will be fair, as Kiffin explained how the timing of when players decide to enter the transfer portal has caused a difference in the revenue they have been able to receive at his program.

“Sorry to say, you want the real truth like I give them, it depends when you went in,” Kiffin said. “Guys make more now than when they went in the portal a year or two ago and they used up their one-time transfer. Hey, I’m just teaching you how life works. It is what it is. You used your window. You don’t have the leverage now to go in until you graduate because you can’t go in a second time. So there’s the truth to what really happens.”

Kiffin rarely shies away from being brutally honest when speaking to the media, and he’s no different when speaking to his players regarding NIL. He’s often compared NIL to payment in the professional sports world and believes at the end of the day, just like all pro sports, the winning and playing well will always result in more dollars.

“But I teach them, hey, you basically signed a contract, even though you don’t have a real contract. You’re here to play. You accepted whatever the terms are that you and the collective did, so go play and figure it out after the season,” Kiffin said. “My dad used to say that to coaches in the first meeting of the year. Forget your contracts. Whatever you signed, it is what it is. Let’s play really well, let’s coach really well and worry about that in the off-season. That’s what I tell them now. The best way you make more money is to play really well.”