Pitt's Pat Narduzzi calls for 'lid' on NIL deals as coaches voice frustration over reform efforts

While stakeholders were meeting at NCAA headquarters to discuss a new policy to govern the ever-evolving NIL space, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was speaking at ACC Football Kickoff about how he believes there should be a “lid” on deals.

“We’re going to have small class sizes and we’re going to small alumni groups as they matriculate through the University of Pittsburgh,” Narduzzi said Wednesday in Charlotte. “So, I think there’s got to be a lid on the [NIL deals]. If you’re going to leave the transfer portal open, there’s got to be a salary cap so people can’t go overspend.”

Narduzzi has never been one too shy to voice his concerns on polarizing topics in college sports. In May, he blasted Colorado coach Deion Sanders‘ massive roster overhaul. 

“That’s not the way it’s meant to be,” Narduzzi said at the time. “That’s not what the (transfer portal) rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We’ll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country.”

Narduzzi has been vocal about the transfer portal for a while now, but he becomes the latest college football coach to express frustration over the current state of NIL. He’s also not the first coach to call for a salary cap or say there needs to be uniformity among NIL state laws.

“We need some kind of salary cap or some kind of guidelines,” UCF coach Gus Malzahn told On3’s Eric Prisbell at Big 12 Media Days. “It’s all over the place. I think every coach in America would second that.”

Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin also expressed his frustration recently about the current state of NIL.

“With NIL, you’ve got a lot of pay-for-play going on and that is what it is,” Kiffin said last week at SEC Media Days. “[That and the transfer portal] combining, there’s not a system in place. I don’t think there are any other sports at any level that are like this, that really, you every year, can opt into free agency. Really, twice a year.”

NCAA meeting to discuss new NIL policy

New school-friendly state NIL laws in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Montana, Arkansas and New York have, football coaches say, created competitive advantages for in-state schools while clashing with existing NCAA guidelines related to donor-driven collectives. The laws also prohibit the NCAA from policing some NIL activity.

The NIL working group meeting this week in Indianapolis has been tasked with drafting an updated proposal, essentially a Plan B, in case the NCAA’s pursuit of a long-sought federal reform bill falls short.

The NCAA Division I Council received an update on the subcommittee’s work during meetings attended by President Charlie Baker in Indianapolis on June 27 and 28. The purpose of this week’s meetings was to solicit feedback from a broader audience of industry experts.

Drafting an updated NIL policy does not reflect an NCAA strategy pivot, a source with direct knowledge of the meetings told On3. Rather, the association will operate on two parallel tracks, pursuing a new policy as it continues to aggressively lobby federal lawmakers for legislation.

A growing number of prominent college sports leaders – including Big 12 Conference Commissioner Brett Yormark, AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco, Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione and North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham – told On3 that the time is now to craft a Plan B.