Greg Sankey: ‘There’s no “easy” button’ to solve NIL issues

LOS ANGELES – As the execution of NIL deals continues to run far afield of what administrators and legislators originally anticipated, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Sunday morning that the state of regulation is one of “constant adaptation.” But he added that he remains buoyed by the public response to the game as it undergoes significant change.

Sankey spoke with the media at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott after the College Football Playoff news conference for coaches Kirby Smart of Georgia and Sonny Dykes of TCU.

“Has it manifested itself in the way we thought? Sankey asked of NIL. “Yeah, in many ways it has, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right destination.”

With Congress showing little interest in establishing a national law regarding the compensation of collegiate athletes for use of their name, image and likeness, NCAA members are left to negotiate what Sankey described as a “patchwork” of 30 different state laws.

“I’m not aware of any enforcement action from a state, whether it’s the attorney general or others assigned the enforcement,” Sankey said.

There is a question of enforcement of those laws in a highly competitive industry. Either every school in those 30 states is abiding by the law or it isn’t politically expedient to rein in a football program that is competing with schools in other jurisdictions that don’t have to play by the same rules.

“One of the adaptations we’ve seen, which we predicted, is that states would become competitive,” Sankey said. “Their legislatures and legislators would say, ‘Look, we designed a pretty effective law.’ I think Florida is an example. ‘And now we’re going to pull back from that because the next state over has a recruiting advantage.’ Or, ‘We just won’t have any laws.’ ”

Despite the massive changes to college football brought by NIL and the transfer portal, five SEC schools enjoyed attendance increases of at least 10 percent, and SEC schools played in half of the top 10-rated non-bowl telecasts.

“That’s encouraging,” Sankey said, “But we can’t be complacent. With the amount of change, I don’t take any comfort in that. I’m actually constantly reminded that we have a responsibility every day to figure out the path forward given the pressures, and the complexity of the problems indicates there’s no ‘easy’ button where they’re just solved.”