Why 30-day transfer portal 'doesn’t help solve any problems'

Coaches, personnel and NIL collectives have called for the end of the spring college football transfer portal for nearly two years. But it is not going anywhere. The NCAA Division I Committee voted Tuesday to move the portal entry period from 45 days to 30 total days.

Specifically, 20 days in December and 10 days in April. The spring window, notorious for its slim talent pool and athletes’ last-ditch efforts for a quick payday, was not shut down.

“The narrative was no spring portal, so it made sense to limit the spring leverage,” a Big 12 NIL collective executive director said. “You have to recruit your own players. Crap, man, nothing changed. If you went back and studied guys who collectives overpaid for, it’s all in the spring. They see how much money they have left and then who is the best defensive end or linebacker. They are never as good as they’re supposed to be and cause problems.

“We were excited for no spring portal because you could lock in on your current team. You could actually go coach them and develop them. Now it’s just the same old, same old.”

The spring window can unwind a roster quickly, too.

“I hate that portal window,” an SEC NIL collective director told On3. “What it does is all the work you did in January to lock guys in – it just is bullshit. Period. You potentially have to spend a little bit more to make sure you’re safe.”

The winter window is now only 20 days, scheduled from Dec. 9 to Dec. 28. On3 spoke with four NIL agencies who said they are expecting at least 10 of their athletes to enter when the winter window opens in 60 days. Roughly 25% of all FBS scholarship players hit free agency last year.

Why ‘portal windows won’t matter’ in future

Multiple personnel staffers expressed to On3 frustration about the shortening of the winter portal. The result will be a shorter period to evaluate talent and get athletes on campus.

“It doesn’t really help solve any problems,” an SEC staffer told On3. “Everyone is going to rush to get guys here for that first weekend in January because most schools start the next week.”

Others have come to the realization the portal will never fit in perfectly with the college football calendar.

“Not really any great solution but at least shortening it should help with the overall calendar flow,” a top-15 program’s personnel assistant told On3. “Honestly, I have the viewpoint that we just have to adapt to all the changes because nothing is a permanent solution until it all gets blown up and redone – so just find a way to win and excel in the meantime. I think it’d be insanely crazy regardless. Hopefully, this can expedite things just a little bit and make it a two to three-week sprint to fill your holes.”

According to NCAA guidelines, the transfer portal will still open for 30 days whenever a head coach leaves their program, allowing athletes to leave and decide on their future. The NCAA announced Wednesday that transfers can now be signed by a new school once their names are in the portal. After a prospect signs, other schools will be prohibited from recruiting communications.

The NCAA passed emergency legislation last spring, allowing athletes to transfer and play immediately as long as they meet specific academic requirements. The decision axed the cap on one-time transfers.

“I don’t think it matters,” another SEC NIL collective operator said of the new transfer windows. “The NCAA isn’t going to push back on athletes that want to transfer outside the portal windows for fear of lawsuits. So, I think once athletes figure that out, the portal windows won’t matter that much. Athletes are going to essentially be able to transfer whenever they want.”

Why December’s window could be ‘craziest one ever’

The landscape-shifting House v. NCAA settlement is on track to begin July 1, 2025, just in time for the 2025-26 academic year. If approved, the settlement will allow schools, at their discretion, to share $21-22 million annually with athletes. The figure equates to 22% of the average Power Five school’s revenue. It will rise 4% each year.

Mix the $22 million with the mound of dollars NIL collectives are sitting on and college football programs will be equipped with their largest war chests to date.

“We say this all the time, but do we think this portal window is going to be the craziest one ever for football?” an SEC NIL collective executive said. “Probably yes, because of all the money that schools are now going to have to spend, they’re going to be allocating. It’s going to be crazy. It’ll just make it intense in a shorter amount of time.”

Asked to project how many more dollars could be spent this winter window, another NIL collective leader said it “will increase close to 20% from this past portal season.”

Since 2021, NIL collectives have worked hand-in-hand with coaches to ensure college football programs had the dollars needed to succeed in the portal. Now athletic departments will have a hand in allocating funds.

“It’ll be interesting if the administration says, ‘We can’t spend any more money here. This is it, no more money to this kid,'” a source told On3. “And then the coach is going to be begging us. Like, what if the school doesn’t want us to do anymore? There’s just going to be some real real interesting things in December.”