Paul Finebaum calls out hypocrisy of Lane Kiffin's rant against NIL, transfer portal

Lane Kiffin didn’t hold back during his time at the podium during SEC Media Days, ranting about NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal while speaking with the media.

Evidently, the Ole Miss leader isn’t a fan of the current structure, and he let the college football world know about it during his passionate statement.

“First off I’ve always said I think it’s phenomenal that players get a chance to get paid, which is great,” Kiffin said. “I do think, which I’ve stood up here and said before when it first happened, that there’s going to be some major issues and we’re creating free agency with the portal.

“With NIL you’ve got a lot of pay for play going on, and that is what it is. So those two things combining, there just is not a system in place and I don’t think that there’s any other sports at any level that are like this that really you, every year, can opt into free agency. Really twice a year.”

Well, Paul Finebaum doesn’t want to hear it. He called Kiffin out for his sentiments, comparing the Ole Miss leader’s past transgression of leaving Tennessee for USC to Kiffin likening the transfer portal to free agency.

“I laughed my way through the whole conversation Matt. I mean, Lane Kiffin’s really upset,” Finebaum said, speaking with Matt Barrie on SportsCenter. “He’s legalized cheating, players can leave at a moment’s notice. I mean, he’s the same guy that left Tennessee in the middle of the night to go to Southern Cal, and spent most of November while his team, as you pointed out, was losing five of it’s last six, talking to Auburn, and then leveraging that for a $10 million deal.

“I mean, we all admire Lane Kiffin. He’s fun on Twitter. But come on Lane, the NIL is a story that’s long past acting outraged about. We know it’s a mess. Thank you very much. Now why don’t you try to win a big game, okay?”

Man oh man, Finebaum took Kiffin to task for his comments, and it’s tough to blame him. Kiffin has benefitted from NIL and the transfer portal just as much as any coach in the country, so it’s an interesting look seeing him call them out.

Until there’s some set guidelines, NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal will continue to be intertwined, and controversial as ever. Lane Kiffin may not like it, but it is what it is as it pertains to the situation.