Steve Spurrier calls out NCAA for not having NIL legislation, proposes new plan

The use of NIL deals and the transfer portal have become a hot topic this offseason in college football for current and former coaches, with everyone from Nick Saban to Steve Spurrier providing their thoughts on the controversy. As the NCAA now attempts to retroactively enforce rules which could have a longstanding impact on boosters and programs, the talk continues.

During a media session at the Nick Saban Legacy Award ceremony last week, Steve Spurrier decided to jump into the controversy and give his thoughts about the state of college football and his plan to help athletes.

“When it first came out, everybody said it will be like pro football,” Spurrier said Monday in Birmingham, via AL.com. “It’s not like pro football. Pro football has rules. They have a draft. They have salary caps. You have to stay with a team two or three years before you can become a free agent. So they had rules in place that they could live with. At some point, I would think the colleges get together because you have to have some kind of rules.”

With no rules, Spurrier is calling out the NCAA in hopes of sparking change – or at least legislation.

“Yeah, I think a lot of people are a little people are frustrated,” Spurrier said. “It’s not football and it shouldn’t be. But right now, this is where we are. If you don’t have a big collection of money ready to give these guys, you’re not going to be recruiting very well, it seems like. I just hope, whoever the new (NCAA president) is will put some rules into place. Incoming players should be able to receive some amount of money but there should be some kind of cap on it.”

Steve Spurrier on paying players

Whether it comes through NIL payments as has become the case now, or a salary from the school’s athletics department, Steve Spurrier does believe the college athletes deserve some form of compensation.

“I do think players should be sharing the pot a lot more,” Spurrier said. “I mentioned that about 12-15 years ago. We need to be giving our players three or four or five thousand bucks a year. It didn’t go that year, but it eventually came around.”

As debates about the use of NIL on the recruiting trail and the transfer portal continue, multiple conference commissioners have met with politicians to discuss the solutions which can be found at the state and federal levels.