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The race to keep up with $40 million rosters is shaking college football

Imagn Images BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It’s the first day of college football’s spring transfer portal window, players are jumping in left and right, and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is anxious. Coming off an 11-2 2024 season that included a College Football Playoff berth, life is pretty good in Bloomington. The university and its supporters are committed […]

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The race to keep up with $40 million rosters is shaking college football

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It’s the first day of college football’s spring transfer portal window, players are jumping in left and right, and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is anxious.

Coming off an 11-2 2024 season that included a College Football Playoff berth, life is pretty good in Bloomington. The university and its supporters are committed to investing in Indiana football, ensuring it can be more than just a one-hit wonder. With the fiery Cignetti’s unrelenting pursuit of success and the player and coaching talent returning, Indiana will have a real chance at making the College Football Playoff again in 2025. 

But Cignetti is still uneasy — and for good reason. Tampering is rampant in college football, and around every corner, a possible enemy lurks trying to poach one of Cignetti’s players. In what was supposed to be a relatively quiet portal period, it has instead been super-charged with football programs making a last grasp at adding as much talent as possible before a likely NCAA v. House settlement that paves the way for revenue sharing.

“This is an unprecedented couple days, weeks, where everybody’s waiting on this rev share, and the five or six out there that have unlimited NIL resources, it’s kind of scary for everybody else,” Cignetti told CBS Sports. “I think our little pot of gold is pretty nice, but we’re not at $40 million. Or $30 million. Or even $25 million.”

A year ago, Ohio State made national headlines when athletic director Ross Bjork said the football program spent $20 million on its eventual national championship-winning roster, but multiple industry sources with knowledge of the market told CBS Sports the top spending programs in 2024 paid upwards of $30 million. 

Is Cignetti saying the top of the market is now $40 million? 

“Right now, I would say yes,” the Indiana football coach said. 

Forty million dollars on a college football roster. 

That is four times the new $10 million club at the top of college basketball that CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander detailed last week. One athletic director at a major college program recently told me that the most expensive college basketball roster could be $15 million-$18 million in 2025. Norlander put 10 schools in that exclusive $10 million club: Arkansas, BYU, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, St. John’s and Texas Tech. 

Cignetti’s proclaimed list of the biggest spenders isn’t as long but there is some overlap with the top basketball budgets.

“I mean if you want to be the best, you got to be able to compete against the best,” Cignetti said. “Right now I understand that is Oregon, Ohio State, Texas. … Texas Tech because of their oil money. I think Notre Dame’s up there pretty good right now, too. Miami, of course.”

Three of those schools rank in the top five of 247Sports’ team transfer portal rankings while Texas has added four Power Four defensive linemen transfers, one of the most expensive positions to grab out of the portal. 

“Those people are kind of playing their own game, but you’ve got to be in that next tier,” Cignetti said. “There are enough good ones out there. You’ve got to be able to retain your good ones and then go get what you need.” 

By the end of that first day of the spring window, more than 500 FBS players had jumped into the portal with many more to come in the following days. It ranged from starting SEC quarterbacks like Nico Iamaleava to second-team all-ACC receivers like Trebor Pena to star Cal running back Jadyn Ott. 

The influx of likely revenue share money with NIL has sent player compensation skyrocketing. This isn’t necessarily new — CBS Sports detailed its impact on the market back in December — but that it has continued into April is, at least partially, because of a 75-year-old federal judge who resides in California.

The $10 million club: College basketball’s portal recruiting hits unthinkable levels of financial chaos

Matt Norlander

The $10 million club: College basketball's portal recruiting hits unthinkable levels of financial chaos

Is the House settlement finally coming?

In the swan song of a long legal career, Judge Claudia Wilken is expected to rule soon on the landmark House case. Multiple college sports executives told CBS Sports they thought it could happen at the end of last week by Good Friday, but when that came and went, the hope is now it’ll be this week. 

If Wilken approves as expected, it will set in motion a $2.8 billion settlement and allow schools to begin paying their athletes directly as soon as July 1. Within those terms, schools are expected to have a $20.5 million “cap” in Year 1 to spend on all their athletes, with the specific payout up to each school’s discretion. 

There are some notable things to consider out of that basic information.

One, if the top end of last year’s college football market was $30 million and the absolute max a school can spend now is $20.5 million — and no school will spend exclusively on football — something has to give. Either player compensation will have to come down, or schools will have to find a way to make up that money in other areas like NIL. Under the revenue share era, the difference is there will be third-party enforcement of NIL deals to see if they hold up to an ambiguous fair market value. 

A Deloitte-administered NIL clearinghouse will weigh in on every NIL deal of $600 or more to determine whether it holds up to a fair market value assessment. There are a lot of different interpretations of what that enforcement will look like (more on that later) but the idea of regulating what has been a free-for-all for years has prompted some programs to be extra aggressive this cycle. The thinking goes that every deal signed before Wilken officially approves the House settlement won’t be subject to any review. It offers potentially the last opportunity to double-dip with unregulated NIL money and the impending revenue share money, allowing for programs to spend tens of millions on their 2025 rosters. 

“People are trying to offload money now but this will be the last cycle where guys are getting big paychecks because of rev share,” says South Carolina general manager Darren Uscher. 

House v. NCAA settlement: Approval awaits in landmark case as judge digs in on roster limits

Brandon Marcello

House v. NCAA settlement: Approval awaits in landmark case as judge digs in on roster limits

Texas Tech, which currently has 247Sports’ top-ranked transfer portal class, has been the most aggressive ahead of the revenue share era. Its top boosters saw an opportunity, decided that money was no object, and went all-in on landing a class that included recent Stanford transfer edge-rusher David Bailey, who multiple sources said will make more than $2.5 million to suit up for the Red Raiders next season.

“They are insane,” one NIL agent said, almost in awe. “They are crazy and do not care. I think they are like, we have one shot before this gets figured out to build a team, and we’ll just overpay people.”

It’s not just oil money-fueled Texas Tech, though. The agent detailed a recent negotiation with an SEC school for a top tackle. In December, he says, the market for a player of his caliber was in the $1 million to $1.5 million range. Now, it was $2 million to $2.5 million for no reason other than to spend as much money as possible before revenue sharing begins.

“Just raise the number, who cares,” is how the agent described the school’s approach. “Let’s just get him in there.” 

Darren Heitner, a prominent sports law attorney, was bombarded with requests in the lead-up to Wilken’s April 7 House hearing. Schools were desperate to get deals finalized ahead of the hearing in case the settlement was approved that day. At a minimum, plenty of schools thought Wilken would rule before the spring transfer portal window opened on April 16, creating an unexpected final opportunity to deploy unregulated NIL money. 

Heitner never believed Wilken would make a final ruling that day but happily obliged the requests and tried to extract as favorable terms as possible for his clients in the rushed scenario. The sports law attorney who works with athletes and collectives says there is no consensus among the industry on what it all means. Some schools fear what’s to come and think every deal must be completed before the settlement is approved. Others believe that there’s nothing to worry about as long as they are done before June 30. And the most bullish are skeptical of any enforcement component and will continue operating as they have been. It makes for a muddled market where it’s challenging to sift through what’s real. 

“I would characterize it as absolute uncertainty and/or willful ignorance and trying to utilize the uncertainty as leverage when there’s a possibility of doing so,” Heitner said. 

Consider Heitner in the skeptical department that the rush to get deals done is necessary.

“At the end of the day, even if Wilken just signed off on this revised settlement agreement, is there any real reason to be fearful of the system that’s going to be implemented?” Heitner said. “Do we really think that spending is going to be decreased as a result? I don’t.”

Are NIL and rev share contracts binding?

Many coaches and administrators hope revenue share agreements will calm a wild market. Currently, there are essentially two free agency periods, including one during the College Football Playoff, that allow players to potentially jump to multiple schools within an academic year. 

Tight end Tanner Kaziol transferred to Houston from Wisconsin just last week after playing for Ball State last season. Quarterback Joey Aguilar entered the transfer portal Monday after UCLA recently added Nico Iamaleava. Aguilar, who played at Appalachian State last season, went through spring practice with UCLA but is now headed to Tennessee, the former home of Iamaleava. 

Winners and losers from Nico Iamaleava saga: QB overplays his hand, UCLA makes a splash, Tennessee will be OK

Cameron Salerno

Winners and losers from Nico Iamaleava saga: QB overplays his hand, UCLA makes a splash, Tennessee will be OK

There are numerous other examples of players transferring away from schools before ever playing a game for them. 

“Supposedly the thought was when they signed part of what they’re signing is a rev share deal is they are bound, to some extent, to your school,” Cignetti said. “You own their NIL rights. It hasn’t slowed down all these other guys jumping in.” 

Miami defensive back Xavier Lucas is believed to be the first one to test the enforceability of the revenue share agreements when he left Wisconsin in January after signing a two-year deal that granted the school the non-exclusive rights to use his name, image and likeness. Wisconsin refused to submit his name in the transfer portal but Lucas went ahead and left the school anyway, enrolling academically at Miami. Heitner, who represented Lucas, had planned to file a lawsuit against Wisconsin for allegedly violating NCAA rules in its refusal to submit Lucas into the transfer portal before he withdrew academically from the school. Lucas, the 20th-ranked transfer player, is projected to be a starter for the Hurricanes in 2025. 

The same questions Cignetti raised about rev share deals can be said for NIL agreements. In both college basketball and college football, collectives have devised agreements intended to bind a player to a school and force either the player or the new school to pay out the contract if said player chooses to leave. In a world without player unions and collective bargaining, this is the attempted workaround to bring stability to what is otherwise unregulated free agency all year. 

The question is whether any of it is legally enforceable. Mit Winter, a well-known sports law attorney at Kennyhertz Perry LLC, believes they are not.

Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurahek appears dead-set on finding out, announcing his support for NIL collective Arkansas Edge pursuing the enforcement of “their rights under any agreement violated by our student-athletes. The social media post came one day after backup quarterback Madden Iamaleava followed his brother, Nico, to UCLA 

Heitner is currently representing a football player in a similar scenario. The player wants to enter the transfer portal and forfeit any remaining obligations while the collective is trying to enforce clauses within the contract which include liquidated damages. Heitner’s argument is that by leaving now and giving the school a chance to replace the player, “there’s really no harm whatsoever.” Still, like most things within college athletics these days, it’ll take a lawsuit to see what holds up or not. The same could be said for the fair market value assessment where Heitner says he’s already been asked to start preparing a lawsuit to challenge it once the House lawsuit settlement goes through. 

Will the House settlement be approved, and if so, when? Can revenue share agreements provide stability to the current unrestricted free agency within college sports? Will the big collectives and NIL money still run the sport or will the new NIL clearinghouse enforcement actually have some teeth to it?

These are all questions coaches and administrators are asking themselves right now. With little clarity or direction, it is up to each individual school and coach to decide what is right and wrong strategically in this new era. 

For coaches like Cignetti, coming off a terrific season, there is baited breath trying to get through this final portal window, which closes April 25, with an intact roster against a predatory market looking to pay big money for contributors. 

“Right now is a different time,” the Indiana coach said. “These next couple weeks who knows how long until this thing gets passed because there’s some crazy stuff going on.” 

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Paul Finebaum: College football is facing an existential threat to the future of the game

Amid a slew of changes in college football over the past few years, concerns about the longevity of the sport have persistently popped up. It’s a popular offseason talking point, if nothing else. But ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum believes all the noise is more than just that. It’s a legitimate warning sign in the sport. […]

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Amid a slew of changes in college football over the past few years, concerns about the longevity of the sport have persistently popped up. It’s a popular offseason talking point, if nothing else.

But ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum believes all the noise is more than just that. It’s a legitimate warning sign in the sport.

“100%. I think college football is at a tipping point, and I think what is going on now is an existential threat to the future of the game,” Finebaum said on the McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning radio program. “In a couple weeks, one thing we will all be saying is, ‘Just get me to that first Saturday. Get me to the last weekend in August and all this will go away.’ But all this will not go away. It’s still there.”

The changes to college football have been numerous. But in terms of order of magnitude, the transfer portal and NIL have been two of the biggest. Each presents its own set of challenges.

As college leadership moves to position itself for a new reality under the House settlement, everyone is grappling with the changes. Some are just ready for the never-ending offseason talk to end.

“A year ago, I really believed that the games on Saturday would cure the ills, and they were fantastic,” Finebaum said. “We all participate in them. But there is, slowly but surely, there is a disconnect. It’s the older fans first. And I know college administrators aren’t as concerned and television executives aren’t as concerned. But ultimately it will trickle down.”

The advent of a bigger playoff is another major change. After moving to 12 teams just last year, college football seems on the verge of an even bigger jump to 16 teams.

With that will come new qualifying measures, debates about automatic qualifying spots, and more. For Finebaum, though, the outlook of the playoff is less concerning than a problem coaches are already dealing with.

That’s equitable structures in the NIL era of college football. Easier said than done, as administrators lobbying in Congress are finding out.

“The fact that Kirby Smart had to say the other day when he’s at Regions that it’s not right for a freshman to be paid more than an upperclassman, I mean, there it is,” Finebaum explained. “It’s just a bizarre system and we don’t care that the players are making money, but ultimately,y the loyalty to the school is where the factor is. And it’s not so much the money, it’s not so much the talk of the playoffs.

“It’s the portal. It’s the fact that a player can leave at a moment’s notice with no commitment, no loyalty. I think (that) is disconnecting fans. It’s at a small rate right now, but it will expand.”

That’s a problem for college football, potentially. One that needs to be addressed in all forward-looking solutions.



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Tuberville calls out Texas Longhorns while speaking about issues with NIL

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules in college football have taken center stage over the last couple of years, but the last month or so in particular it seems things have been scaled up a notch. The presence of President Donald Trump in potential action being taken by lawmakers to bring order to a chaotic […]

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Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules in college football have taken center stage over the last couple of years, but the last month or so in particular it seems things have been scaled up a notch.

The presence of President Donald Trump in potential action being taken by lawmakers to bring order to a chaotic system has ramped up the rhetoric and kept NIL in the news cycle.

With potential involvement in said action by former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, it’s become a complete firestorm.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) has long been at the forefront of the fight to fix a system that is clearly broken, or at the very least in need of some tuning up.

RELATED: Tuberville: Trump and Saban could join forces to tackle NIL reform – hopes to talk tonight at UA

From the potential elimination of non-revenue sports to other schools gaining a competitive advantage solely based off the size of their wallet, Tuberville has been one of the most powerful voices in politics on the topic.

Over the weekend, he put things in terms that residents in the Yellowhammer State understand better than anything else: by name dropping a hated rival and warning their seemingly endless supply of money tips the scales too much.

Referencing the Texas Longhorns, Tuberville issued a stern warning that if the system keeps progressing — or rather devolving — in the way it has, they will become unbeatable.

RELATED: Sen. Tuberville: ‘NIL has turned collegiate sports into the Wild West’

“You’re going to eliminate 90 percent of schools because they don’t have the money,” Tuberville stated via CBS Sports. “Look at Texas. Nobody’s ever going to beat them again if we allow them to keep going the way they’re going. Again, I’ve got nothing against Texas; they’re going by the rules, but we’ve got to hopefully make it work out.”

The Longhorns becoming a superteam who no other program can beat is probably unlikely, but the point remains.

NIL was pitched — obviously in addition to players profiting — as a way to balance the scales and bring to an end to power disparity in college football.

In reality it’s done the opposite and the rich have only gotten richer.

If something does not change, it will only get worse from here.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.





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Universities cutting sports, others adding ahead of NCAA antitrust settlement

Over the past three months, a growing number of universities have added or dropped entire sports programs on the eve of dramatic changes coming to college athletics under the $2.8 billion NCAA settlement. UTEP dropped women’s tennis, Cal Poly discontinued swimming and diving, Marquette added women’s swimming and Grand Canyon shuttered a historically dominant men’s […]

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Universities cutting sports, others adding ahead of NCAA antitrust settlement

Over the past three months, a growing number of universities have added or dropped entire sports programs on the eve of dramatic changes coming to college athletics under the $2.8 billion NCAA settlement.

UTEP dropped women’s tennis, Cal Poly discontinued swimming and diving, Marquette added women’s swimming and Grand Canyon shuttered a historically dominant men’s volleyball program. It was a dizzying set of decisions that appears to offer no pattern except one: Every school is facing a choice on which programs to carry forward once the money really starts flowing.

Non-revenue sports programs are expected to take the back seat at many schools as a result of the NCAA settlement.

While top-tier athletes in high-revenue sports like football and basketball can look forward to robust compensation from their university for the use of their name, image and likeness, there is widespread uncertainty for athletes in the so-called non-revenue sports where tens of thousands of athletes compete largely under the radar.

For them, harsh cuts are a terrifying new reality as athletic departments weigh more than ever before which sports make the most sense to support financially; each school will be able to share as much as $20.5 million with athletes next year but top performers and revenue draws in the big sports will demand the most to keep them out of the transfer portal.

Under-the-radar sports programs are expected to take the back seat at many schools.

Patrick Rishe, executive director of the sports business program at Washington University, said college athletics is only at the beginning of a slew of decisions schools will have to make as a result of the settlement.

“There is going to be more competitive pressure on all universities to step up or else they’ll fall behind,” Rishe said. “So when you’re faced with that challenge, especially at the mid-majors or smaller Division I schools, then you’ve got to ask yourself, does it make sense to continue to carry particular programs?”

Programs at risk

Universities were hit hard financially during the pandemic and sports were affected. In June 2020, for example, UConn announced that it was dropping four sports to save money, a decision that affected more than 120 athletes.

Sports programs come and go, subject to budget woes or competitive concerns and wishes. The pace seems to have picked up ahead of the sweeping changes of the NCAA settlement.

Among the additions: women’s golf (St. Bonaventure and UT Arlington), stunt (Eastern New Mexico) and women’s swimming at Marquette, a Big East school with a top men’s basketball program but without football since 1960.

Among the cuts: women’s tennis (UTEP), men’s volleyball (Grand Canyon) and the swimming and diving programs with nearly 60 athletes at Cal Poly. Saint Francis, fresh off a March Madness appearance by it’s men’s basketball team, announced it will move from Division I to Division III over the next year, citing “realities like the transfer portal, pay-for-play and other shifts that move athletics away from love of the game.”

UTEP cited “upcoming changes to college athletics, including revenue sharing and roster caps.” Cal Poly said the House settlement will result “in a loss of at least $450,000 per year for our programs.”

The key difference from the pandemic-related cuts, Rishe said, is that they are not caused by a loss of revenue but an increase in expenses.

Behind the decisions

As schools wrestle with the prospect of eliminating sports, Rishe said he thinks some programs are safer than others. He pointed to Title IX, the federal law aimed at ensuring gender equity.

“I would suspect that the sports that are most likely going to be cut are going to be men’s sports, and I don’t say that with malice,” he said. “If you’re trying to stay compliant with Title IX, I don’t know how non-revenue men’s sports aren’t the sports that are more apt to be eliminated.”

The balancing out will be different at every school. Radford recently announced it will drop men’s and women’s tennis but add women’s flag football as a club sport and bolster its options for male runners.

At Marquette, athletic director Mike Broeker said the decision to add a women’s swim team was years in the making and based on demographics.

“I think it’s independent of what’s happening in college athletics right now and more about strengthening our position,” he said. “More females are going to college than males, and that creates differentiation. We want to make sure we’re offering an athletics program portfolio that meets our students’ interests based on our student population.”

What’s to come from a future so uncertain that some schools are ending decades of tradition? Rishe said nothing is off the table.

“It may sound crazy, it may have sounded crazy 10 years ago, but now it seems anything is possible,” Rishe said. “I think you could see a day where your top 30 or 40 universities financially are going to break off and form their own entity, leaving the rest of Division I to basically be their own class. I really do see that as a reality.”

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder lock up spot in Western Conference Finals

For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Oklahoma City Thunder will return to the Western Conference Finals — and they can thank MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for getting them there. Behind 35 points from Gilgeous-Alexander, the top-seeded Thunder took it to the four-seeded Denver Nuggets in Sunday’s Game 7, cruising in the second […]

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For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Oklahoma City Thunder will return to the Western Conference Finals — and they can thank MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for getting them there.

Behind 35 points from Gilgeous-Alexander, the top-seeded Thunder took it to the four-seeded Denver Nuggets in Sunday’s Game 7, cruising in the second half to a dominant 125-93 victory at home. The Nuggets sprinted out to the early lead before OKC’s offense found a rhythm going into halftime. The Thunder led by as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 11 points in the first.

With the win, SGA advances to the first Conference Finals appearance of his seven-year career. Alongside fellow Wildcat guard Cason Wallace, they’ll lead the Thunder into the next round against Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. That series begins on Tuesday night in OKC. Even with only two teams remaining in the Western Conference, we’ve still got four Kentucky guys roaming the floor, three of them playing significant minutes (sorry, Dillingham).

Gilgeous-Alexander was terrific all series long against Denver, but hit another gear in the final few games. He dropped 31 points in a Game 5 win and followed it up with 32 more in a Game 6 loss. But his 35 points on Sunday marked a series-high. SGA shot an efficient 12-19 from the field (3-4 3PT) to get there while adding four assists, three rebounds, and three steals to his stat line in 36 minutes played. And oh yeah, he didn’t turn the ball over once.

Wallace chipped in seven points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals in 28 minutes off the pine for OKC. Whenever the second-year guard is on the floor, he plays winning basketball — on both ends.

But while there was a celebration to be had in the Thunder locker room after the win, there was disappointment coming from the other end of the floor. Nikola Jokic, who is expected to finish second in MVP voting behind Gilgeous-Alexander, was held in check (by his standards) in Game 7: “only” 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists with five turnovers.

Jokic’s co-star, Jamal Murray, struggled to his a groove offensively. The former ‘Cat finished with a series-low 13 points on 6-16 shooting (1-8 3PT). It was a so-so playoffs for Murray, who just hasn’t been able to replicate the postseason success he had in the 2020 bubble and the Nuggets’ title run in 2023.

Karl-Anthony Towns representing Kentucky in the East

The Western Conference Finals won’t be the only series with some Kentucky flavor, though. Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks will take on the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. And had Isaiah Jackson not suffered an Achilles injury early into the season for Indiana, we’d have even more Wildcats in the final two rounds.

Towns has been far from perfect through the first two series, but he’s done more than enough to contribute to New York’s wins. In the Knicks’ six Eastern Conference Semifinal games against the Boston Celtics, KAT averaged 19.8 points and 12.7 rebounds per outing while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. His three-point shooting (3-19) and foul troubles (4.3 per game) were issues against Boston, but he can remedy that by bouncing back against the Pacers.

Game 1 between the Knicks and Pacers is set for Wednesday. Between the four remaining teams, none of them has won an NBA Finals since the 1970s.



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The Sam Bradford Problem Took Down the NFL Once, Now It’s College Football’s Crisis

College football is facing a financial reckoning, and it’s happening at breakneck speed. In just three years since introducing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules in 2021, the sport has stumbled into what some call the “Sam Bradford Problem.” While the term may seem complex, the problem is familiar to football. Who are the top […]

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College football is facing a financial reckoning, and it’s happening at breakneck speed. In just three years since introducing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules in 2021, the sport has stumbled into what some call the “Sam Bradford Problem.” While the term may seem complex, the problem is familiar to football.

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What Is the Sam Bradford Problem?

The “Sam Bradford Problem” is a term that harkens back to the NFL’s own salary struggles in 2010. Bradford signed a staggering six-year, $78 million contract with the St. Louis Rams as a rookie, making him one of the highest-paid players in the league before he’d even taken a snap.

In 2010, Bradford’s deal with the Rams set a dangerous precedent in the NFL. Rookies, often drafted high based on potential rather than proven performance, were commanding salaries that dwarfed those of established stars who’d been grinding for years. This led to resentment in locker rooms and financial strain for teams, as massive rookie contracts ate up salary cap space.

The NFL took 90 years to confront this kind of rookie-veteran pay disparity, eventually addressing it with a rookie wage scale in the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). College football, however, has barreled into the same issue in a fraction of the time, and the fallout could reshape the sport as we know it.

Fast-forward to this year, and college football is grappling with a similar imbalance, but the stakes feel even higher. The landscape has shifted dramatically since the NCAA allowed athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness in 2021.

Speaking on “The Paul Finebaum Show” recently, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart, one of the most successful coaches, sounded the alarm on this issue. He implied that he wants a respectful system and more pay for seniority.

“I just want to be able to have a freshman come in and not make more than a senior, and I’d like for other sports to be able to still survive. You know, we’re on the brink of probably one to two years away from a lot of schools cutting sports,” highlighting how this pay disparity disrupts team hierarchy and threatens the broader ecosystem of college sports to a great extent.

RELATED: Georgia Coach Kirby Smart Issues Stark Warning About NIL Chaos and What’s Coming Next for College Sports

Top recruits are signing NIL deals worth millions before they even step on campus, often out-earning upperclassmen who’ve put in years of work. While it is impressive to see such young talent perform well in life, our favorite players build a strong financial foundation, the lopsided pay has created frustrations and instability, to say the least.

Multiple calls have reiterated some form of control on the pay scale, and those who value loyalty have been hurt by the ever-changing landscape.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college footballmen’s college basketballwomen’s college basketball, and college baseball!





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Texas A&M is Getting Roasted for Another Underwhelming Athletic Year

In terms of true spending power, there might not be a program in college athletics that holds more weight than Texas A&M. The Aggies are heavily backed by oil-based money moguls that can drop seven-figure checks by the athletic director’s office without batting an eye, but it has yet to get them over the hump […]

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In terms of true spending power, there might not be a program in college athletics that holds more weight than Texas A&M.

The Aggies are heavily backed by oil-based money moguls that can drop seven-figure checks by the athletic director’s office without batting an eye, but it has yet to get them over the hump in the NIL era.

A&M fans have endured 122 seasons of baseball without a national title, and despite claiming three national titles—the most recent being in 1939—the Aggies football team has never won a nationally recognized championship in its 131-year history. Basketball has never made a Final Four, or an Elite Eight for that matter, and softball, well, it has won two national titles—but not since 1987.

 

This spring, it appeared that the program’s baseball and softball teams might have a chance to end their collective drought’s but after some late-night drama on Sunday, those hopes came crashing down in yet another disappointing result.

Coming into the 2025 season, Texas A&M’s softball program was the Preseason No. 1 team in the country and the trendy pick to win a national championship. Fast forward to the end of the regular season and the Aggies are 28-25 (11-19 SEC) and will likely be headed home when the NCAA Tournament starts.

After a 47-10 regular season, the Texas A&M softball team earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were among a short list of favorites to dethrone Oklahoma. Then, in the blink of an eye, they became the first ever No. 1 seed to fail to advance out of their own regional.



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