Rich Rodriguez calls for NIL cap to create ‘competitive fairness’ in college football
· Yahoo Sports
For the last year, schools have been operating with a cap on the amount of money they can directly pay athletes through revenue-sharing. But there isn’t a cap on third-party NIL deals, which are subject to the NIL Go clearinghouse if they’re worth more than $2,000, and Rich Rodriguez argued for that to change.
As Rodriguez gets ready for his second season back at West Virginia, roster costs around college football are on the rise. The expectation is multiple teams will reach the $40 million mark and the sense is $50 million might also be on the horizon.
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While he said paying players felt “inevitable,” Rodriguez called for a cap on third-party NIL deals to help create more balance in spending. He drew comparisons to the NFL’s model to make his point.
“I think having the rev-share and having a cap is perfect,” Rodriguez said on Next Up with Adam Breneman. “It makes perfect sense. It’s great for the guys. But there’s no cap now because there’s no cap on NIL. If they can somehow – I think they should model, as much as we can, the NFL. It’s the most successful pro organization by far, and they have so many rules that people don’t even realize.
“The rules are for competitiveness and fairness. Well, let’s try to follow them as best we can. They say you can’t do it. I think you can.”
Rich Rodriguez: Coaches look out for their schools
Although the NCAA’s quest for federal help is ongoing – a bipartisan Senate bill released this week was a notable step – Rich Rodriguez argued Congress might not be the way to go for a solution. Instead, he said athletics directors and coaches should be part of the process to find more balance in the sport.
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“The ADs should be helping make decisions,” Rodriguez said. “Coaches should be involved in making decisions and trying to get it so there’s some kind of competitiveness. The NFL, the worst team gets the first pick, right? In college, the best teams are getting the best pick and they’re going to continue – when you have a team that has a $90 million roster or an $80 million roster, which they’re saying [it’s] going to, somebody else in the same league has got a $15 million roster, that’s not competitive fairness.
“I think all coaches, they’re going to do what’s best for them in their own school. But if you asked them all, ‘Hey, what needs to be done to have the competitiveness more fair,’ it would be a cap on the total number you have to buy players.”