Charles Barkley Calls Out NIL Deals As An “Unsustainable Model Of Business” In College Sports originally appeared on Fadeaway World.

Charles Barkley has never been one to shy away from controversy, and now the Hall of Famer is turning his focus to what he sees as a deeply flawed system at the heart of college sports: the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) model.

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During a recent appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast, Barkley didn’t hold back in calling the current NIL environment an “unsustainable business model” that could soon collapse under its own weight.

“I would’ve made a lot,” Barkley said when asked how much money he could’ve earned if NIL existed during his days at Auburn.

“I would’ve made a lot. But you know what? They’ve got to fix this system, it’s completely out of whack and out of control right now. It’s an unsustainable business model to keep begging donors like myself for millions every year.”

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“I love my college, but I’m not going to go broke giving them money annually. Paying kids $20 to $30 million a year, there’s no business that can function like that. I’m not against players making money.”

“Whether it’s the NBA or college, more power to them. But the current college model, where players are just handed tens of millions, that’s not sustainable.”

The numbers back his frustration. Some of the top NIL-earning athletes in college sports today are making more than seasoned professionals. Arch Manning, the Texas Longhorns quarterback and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, has an estimated NIL valuation of $6.8 million.

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Bronny James, son of LeBron James, reportedly holds NIL earnings valued at around $7.2 million. Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders, son of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, has pulled in an estimated $4.1 million.

While Barkley made it clear that he’s not against athletes getting paid, he emphasized that the current system of unregulated millions being handed out to college athletes isn’t sustainable long-term.

Barkley’s comments come amid a broader national conversation around NIL reform, one that has now reached the highest levels of government.

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On July 24, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Saving College Sports” that seeks to rein in the burgeoning chaos in college athletics created by unregulated NIL (name, image, likeness) compensation. The order prohibits third‑party “pay‑for‑play” payments to athletes, such as booster-funded inducements, while still allowing legitimate fair‑market NIL endorsement deals.

It directs colleges with high athletic revenues to maintain or increase scholarships and roster spots for non‑revenue and women’s sports, and tasks agencies like the Department of Labor, Justice, Education, and the FTC to develop enforcement plans within 30 days. The goal: to preserve amateurism, stabilize collegiate sports programs, and clarify whether student-athletes are considered employees.

The message was clear: NIL had grown into a financial beast with very few guardrails. Between athletes becoming millionaires before ever playing a snap and universities increasingly leaning on private collectives to fund their recruiting efforts, many insiders believe that a major overhaul is looming and Barkley is simply one of the loudest voices now calling for it.

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As NCAA leaders scramble to navigate the blurry lines between amateurism and professionalism, Barkley’s warning stands tall: NIL may have opened new doors for athletes, but unless someone figures out how to regulate the chaos, those doors may slam shut far sooner than expected.

Related: Gilbert Arenas On Evil Side Of NIL Deals: “The Parent Is Selling Their Kids”

This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.

Plenty of schools are rejoicing after new guidelines have declared that NIL collectives can get back to work without fear of punishment.

PublishedJuly 29, 2025 3:07 PM EDT•UpdatedJuly 29, 2025 6:01 PM EDT

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It only took a month of wrangling over rules related to the House settlement and how NIL collectives could stay involved in paying college athletes before we had one side give in to the other over compensation guidelines. 

There have been threats of lawsuits looming over the newly formed College Sports Commission related to their guidelines on how players could be compensated under the new clearinghouse guidelines, which are also known as ‘NILGo’. 

In the aftermath of the Huse settlement approval, the CSC issued rules pertaining to how NIL collectives would be classified, stating that they would not be offering deals that served a valid business purpose. It was at that moment that NIL collectives started fighting back against the rules that would not allow them to offer deals to athletes that would have them making appearances or holding autograph-type events that would be classified as an actual promotional type of work. 

In response to the original report for Yahoo Sports last week, A spokesperson for the defendant conferences and the CSC said conversations with class counsel remain ongoing. A formal statement will be issued when the issue has been resolved. 

Simply put, NIL collectives were being pushed to the side and out the door, which was certainly going to lead to lawsuits being filed. How was the CSC going to determine what type of events athletes could take part in for payment? 

They couldn’t, which led to all sides reconvening at the table to hammer out new rules and guidelines that would give collectives the ability to continue paying athletes for their services. Over the last few weeks, the arguing over what was right, or legal, led to plenty of opinions, but it was obvious that this was not going to stick. 

The collectives were not just going to stand by, and, if we’re being honest, neither were the folks pulling strings behind the scenes that allowed athletes to make additional revenue that would not count towards the new revenue-sharing cap that was put into place. 

Moving forward, the CSC would reportedly treat collectives just like they would any other business entity that is looking to hire an athlete for promotional work. While the deals that are reached with athletes will still have to go through the NILGo clearinghouse and prove that any type of financial agreements offered are of ‘fair market value’, this has reopened the door for players to make a substantial amount of money, just as they were before the House settlement. 

These changes were first reported by Yahoo Sports. 

According to the CSC, conversations with class counsel remain ongoing in regards to these matters, and guidelines could ultimately be shifted again. This is obviously the case when you are dealing with matters so important to the future of college athletics.m

NIL Collectives Never Really Went Anywhere; They Just Took A Quick Break

The only difference to where we are at as of today is that these deals will have to pass a more stringent smell test. Paying athletes under the guise of ‘NIL’, while having them appear for a few ‘events’ that would have occurred in the previous era, is no longer going to be an easy route that collectives can take to show that the agreement was fulfilled. 

There have been plenty of deals in the past where an athlete would make a substantial amount of money for appearances or promotional work, only for them to show up and take a few pictures, which would then satisfy an agreement. 

One collective representative simplified the situation for OutKick readers on Tuesday night. 

“I think there will be more eyes on the deals that are signed. The star running back will not be able to show up at the local Habitat for Humanity event, hammer a few nails, take a few pictures and think that the majority of our deal has been completed. But, there will be plenty of others who try to push the limits on what is acceptable under the new enforcement arm of college athletics.”

Whether you want to call it ‘pay for play,’ with a side of work, is up to you. 

Over the past month, there have been numerous schools waiting for further guidance on this matter, which has led to them losing out on recruits due to them wanting to know what type of rules to follow without getting caught up in some ordeal that could come back to hurt them. 

Now, it will be full-speed ahead once new guidelines are issued, if they are changed, knowing that collectives can afford schools the opportunity to procure deals for athletes that would not count towards the cap. Think of it as subcontractor work that will go straight into the pocket of the athletes. 

Welcome back to the game, collectives. I know plenty of schools are happy to have you back on the field. 

“As long as I can help young people and their families, then I will do it” – John Calipari says he won’t retire anytime soon originally appeared on Basketball Network.

In the wake of college basketball changing rapidly by the second, with NIL deals taking over the once amateur college league, some coaches like John Calipari are emphasizing guiding players on and off the court rather than just getting as many wins or banners as possible.

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“As long as I can help young people and their families, then I will do it,” Calipari revealed his reason for still coaching during an interview on

“The Jim Rome Show.”

Calipari is one of those rare pure coaches who are driven by the transformations of his athletes, rather than viewing them as transactional pieces to better his legacy.

He not only changes the athlete’s life but also improves their family’s life.

Cal’s purpose in the new era of college basketball

The mindset Calipari has is rare in the era of NIL deals, transfer portals, and pro-level similarities and pressures. For many coaches, adapting to the new era means prioritizing their recruitment strategies and sponsorships.

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For Calipari, adapting is coaching out of a love for the game and a desire to change lives.

He’s never been the one to shy away from talent. He has coached over 50 NBA draft picks, including two MVPs: Derrick Rose and the most recent, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Even with those two players and the other 50+ NBA players he has coached, his end goal was always the same — to prepare and improve the players’ lives and their families’ for when they are no longer able to play the game.

“I love doing what I’m doing and so I’d like to help 20, 25 more families, 30 more families and then I’ll say it’s been a good run you know,” Coach Cal said.

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Now, as he adjusted to a new environment with the Razorbacks at Arkansas, that philosophy is being put to the test again. He’s aware of how much the landscape has changed due to the NIL, but that is not going to slow him down — he knows his goal, which is to retire when he feels he has positively impacted enough players.

Related: “I was a little embarrassed about how the fans treated me” – Larry Bird on why it was tough coming to Boston as Pacers head coach

A legacy beyond the hardwood

Calipari, now 66 years old, isn’t getting any younger and retiring is not an option just yet. Interestingly enough, he measures his remaining time in basketball not by a specific trophy or the amount of money he has made, but rather by the impact he can have on the lives of his current and future players.

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Some will remember him for his appearances in the Final Four or his time at Kentucky alongside stars like John Wall, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker. But Calipari seems far more interested in being remembered for something more modest — being the guy who showed up when it mattered, who helped a player’s mom afford a home or made sure a teenager excelled in the classroom.

“As long as I can keep helping young people and their families then I’ll do it, the minute I don’t I’m not capable of doing it because the rules have made it or the environment has made it with NIL and with the transfer portal where I can’t, if it’s transactional versus transformational, why would I do it?” Coach Cal emphasized.

Having a positive impact on a player will always be more important to Coach Cal than any trophy or amount of money he could get. In a college sports world that rewards transactions, Calipari continues to preach transformation.

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And that may be his greatest legacy.

Related: “I called my mom, like, can I transfer?” – John Calipari pushed John Wall to the limit at Kentucky

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.

Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men’s basketball has been selected to be a part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon which will take place on Monday, Nov. 3.
 

The Field of 68 is partnering with Visit York County at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center as well as Sanford Sports and the Sanford Pentagon to launch a new, innovative event on the opening day of the college basketball season. On Nov. 3, 2025, the Field of 68 will be broadcasting ‘The Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon,’ a six-game, all-day event featuring three showcase games in each venue.
 
The Marathon features the following matchups:
In Rock Hill, SC:
Queens vs. Winthrop | Bradley vs. St. Bonaventure | High Point vs. Furman
In Sioux Falls, SD:
Drake vs. Northern Arizona | Murray State vs. Omaha | South Dakota State vs. Merrimack
 
Tickets go on sale at September 5th at ticketmaster.com for the games in Sioux Falls, SD and at TicketReturn for the games in Rock Hill, SC.
 
The games will be broadcast on The Field of 68’s YouTube Channel and X feeds, and the network’s popular After Dark show will be broadcast live with a set at both venues. The times of the games will be released later. “We are honored to be involved in this event, which has some of the elite programs in the country that exist outside the sport’s traditional power structure,” Field of 68 founder Rob Dauster said. “This is a great opportunity for us to be able to provide more coverage for these teams that frankly don’t get enough. What we do at the Field of 68 is try and give teams at all levels the coverage they deserve.” 
 
“Visit York County is excited to partner with the Field of 68 Media Network to host six top collegiate basketball programs, including our very own Winthrop Eagles,” said Andy Clinton, the president of Visit York County. “It’s very rewarding to see a relationship built with Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster a few years ago evolve into a national event to kick off the college basketball season. Visiting teams and spectators will stimulate our local economy while York County will also be in the national spotlight for three intriguing matchups on the Field of 68 Media Network.”
 
The Marathon will kick off at 8 a.m. with a matchup between local rivals Queens and Winthrop, the first game of the 2025-26 college basketball season. 
 
“It’s an unbelievable way to represent a local rivalry,” Leonard said. “I appreciate Coach Prosser playing the game every year. The fact that we’re able to do it in this type of setting is great for both of our programs, so we’re really excited about it.”
 
This is the fourth year that Queens has been a Division I program, and they are coming off of a 20-win season where they played in the CBI. Winthrop has won against Queens in each of the last two seasons.
 
“I’ll probably have to have a couple cups of coffee that morning, maybe one the night before preparing for those guys,” Prosser said. “We’ve had great games up to this point the last couple of years. It’ll be a challenge whenever it is, and if it’s 8 o’clock on the first day, it will be 8 o’clock on the first day.”
 
Furman has been one of the best programs in the SoCon under Bob Richey, reaching the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, while Flynn Clayman takes over a High Point team that dominated the Big South in two seasons under Alan Huss. 
 
“For the health of college basketball, in November, you have to go and challenge yourself,” Richey said. “The more games like this, where great programs that have won at a high level get together, there’s no downside to it. To be here in Rock Hill, at this great facility, we are thrilled to be a part of it.”
 
“I love challenging our team right away,” first-year coach Clayman said. “Opening night, there’s gonna be a ton of excitement, I expect this place to be absolutely rocking by tip-off. It’s a first-class area and facility in Rock Hill. And it’s an elite place for a college basketball game.”
 
Bradley is one of the best programs in the Missouri Valley, having won the regular season title in 2023 and finishing at least four games over .500 in the league in each of the last four seasons. They will be taking on St. Bonaventure and Mark Schmidt, who is widely regarded as one of the best X’s-and-O’s coaches in college basketball.
 
“When you play a good team in the first game of the season, you have your guys’ attention more,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. “It gives you extra juice heading into that first week. We’re so excited about this event. It’s a great location, great city… and it’s gonna be a high-level game that we’re thrilled to be a part of.”
 
“We’re really excited to be the second game of the season, play in Rock Hill and face a great opponent,” Schmidt said. “Coach Wardle does a great job, does it the right way, and his teams are well-coached. They lost a lot of guys, we lost a lot of guys. Our guys are excited to play a great program, a successful program, very similar to us – a little under the radar. Great venue, our alumni will come to the game and we’re very excited about it.”
 
 
 

Greg Schiano might be one of a handful who think college football is in a great place at the moment. The Rutgers head coach was honest about where the sport is and going when speaking at Big Ten Media Days.

To be fair to Schiano, most of the discussion surrounding NIL and the transfer portal is done in a negative fashion, especially when it comes to the “wild west” narrative. With the current system, Schiano wants everything to play out for a period of time before trying to make a lot of changes. Or making constant changes as far as an immediate reaction.

“Look, I think college football is in a great place, and I know a lot of people like to moan and groan about things that are different,” Schiano said. “We need to just let things settle down and figure out if what we’ve done, what the court system has done, is it going to allow us to kind of find a level where we can go out and perform, where we can go out and have the kind of teams and programs and leagues that we want to have?

“I think tweaking things too early — let’s see how it works out right now. We did a lot. Let’s settle down and see how this works. I know with the CSC there’s a lot of things that are talked about. All those things are great, and they need to be taken care of. I forever have believed that players should be paid. I always felt it was an injustice that players didn’t receive some form of compensation, whether it was a stipend or whatever it would be.

“I’m thrilled where we are right now. I think that there needs to be some fine-tuning, but not major changes right now. Let’s see if this will work, and if it doesn’t, then a couple of years from now let’s change it, then. I do. I think college football is still incredibly popular. The fans love it. The players love it. The coaches love it. I can’t wait to get started.”

Schiano has adjusted with the times, but college football still comes down to the basics. At least, that’s how he wants to approach it. The good news is, Rutgers finally hired a permanent athletic director in the form of Keli Zinn from LSU, so it’ll give the football program and others more stability.

“Also, in this new day of college football, I would like to recognize, we have two assistant GMs,” Schiano said. “Assistant GM for finance is Jordan Wolkstein, who has done an incredible job putting all the financial end of things together. Then our assistant GM for personnel, Eric Josephs, who has been in that role with personnel since we arrived but now has additional responsibilities. Can’t thank them enough.

“Again, after all the changes that are going on in college football, it still comes down to a few things: Getting prepared, being tough, and then go putting it on tape. That’s what this team I think has done a great job of doing so far in this offseason in summer, and I can’t wait to coach them.”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Mountaineer football is flipping the calendar back to 2007 with the resumption of the Rich Rodriguez era, getting underway tomorrow morning with the opening of fall training camp.

The football team Rodriguez is putting on the practice field Wednesday morning is dramatically different than the one Neal Brown had out there for last year’s regular season finale at Texas Tech, a 52-15 Red Raider victory.

Rodriguez will be welcoming 72 newcomers, and that doesn’t include four transfers yet to be cleared. Broken down, that’s 25 January transfers, 28 post-spring transfers and 19 freshmen.

While it is going to take a while for West Virginia fans to remember all the new names and numbers, their football coach certainly needs no introduction.

His 190 career victories include 60 at WVU during a seven-season period from 2001-07 that is considered among the most successful in school history.

Eighteen years later, Rodriguez is back in hopes of picking up where he left off when his Mountaineer team was ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press and No. 1 in the USA Today/Coaches’ polls on Nov. 25, 2007. It’s the only time West Virginia has ever been ranked No. 1 in either major football poll in school history.

“Aside from the mind-blowing move of Bill Belichick to North Carolina, the most intriguing college football hire of the winter is the return of Rich Rodriguez to West Virginia,” The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman wrote last February.

Feldman’s colleague Stewart Mandell’s faith in humanity was renewed when West Virginia and Rodriguez kissed and made-up last December.

“The 2007 West Virginia Rich Rod split was the ugliest I’ve seen,” he posted on X. “There was a lawsuit. The governor got involved. The cloud hung over his entire Michigan tenure. If (West Virginia and Rodriguez) can get back together, there’s hope for anyone.”

The biggest question West Virginia football fans from Weirton to Welch and from Martinsburg to Matewan want answered is can Rodriguez lead the Mountaineers to the same type of success at age 62 that he enjoyed here the first time when he was just 44?

Rodriguez believes he can.

“I’ve learned a whole lot in a week, let alone the last 17 years,” he said earlier this month in Frisco, Texas. “They should be getting a better version of me and my staff, and I hope they will be getting a better version of our players, too.”

There are a considerable number of sexagenarians still involved in the college game today, led by the 73-year-old Belichick.

Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz recently turned 70, while Utah’s Kyle Whittingham will celebrate his 66^th birthday later this season. Some others in this category include Temple’s K.C. Keeler, Houston’s Willie Fritz, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, LSU’s Brian Kelly, Connecticut’s Jim Mora Jr., Arkansas’ Sam Pittman and Colorado State’s Jay Norvell. 

West Virginians are familiar with two of the best coaches in college football history – both of whom enjoyed their greatest successes during the twilight years of their coaching careers.

Monongah’s Nick Saban won his second national championship at Alabama in 2009 at age 58 and claimed five more while in his 60s – his last one coming at age 69 in 2020.

Bobby Bowden left West Virginia in 1975 at age 46 and was 64 when he won his first national championship at Florida State in 1993; then, he claimed his second at age 70 in 1999. Bowden remains the oldest first-time coach to win a title in NCAA history and is also the oldest to ever win one.

Bear Bryant captured his last two national championships at Alabama in 1978-79 after age 65 when most people consider retiring.

Don James was 58 when he won his first and only national title at Washington in 1991.

Nebraska’s Tom Osborne’s three national championships came at ages 56, 57 and 59.

Gene Stallings won his first and only national championship at age 57 while coaching at Alabama. Mack Brown and Les Miles won national titles while in their 50s.

So, perhaps 60 is the new 40?

“We’re doing some of the same stuff, philosophically, what have you, from 20 years ago, but I also had to grow,” Rodriguez pointed out. “I had to grow as a coach. I asked my staff to grow with me, the guys and the people that have been with me over the years.

“I think if you learn from everything, whether it’s good or bad, you got a chance to win,” he explained. “I say this all the time. Every decision I make now with the program is does it help us win? I’ve got to follow that.”

The game has changed significantly since Rodriguez last worked on the West Virginia sidelines, but as he pointed out in Texas, it’s still a game.

Name, Image and Likeness, transfer portal and revenue sharing weren’t even concepts in college football back in those days.

“Hell, this is a lot easier than working in a coal mine or digging a ditch,” he admitted. “You get frustrated because you can do everything right in recruiting and all that stuff and the guy just gets bought. That’s just the way it is.

“But I’ve always loved coaching,” he continued. “I started off at the Division II level and you’re not taking a job for money or fame or anything like that. You’re taking a job because you love coaching, you love being around athletics and I still love it.

“That’s why I still call plays. I still get in the middle of everything that we do on offense, defense and special teams because I love the game, first off, but I also love coaching guys and seeing guys from what level they’re at right now (advance) to another level and watching them grow as players,” he said.

The thrill of a winning locker room has never changed for Rodriguez, whether it was as an 18-year-old freshman football player at West Virginia, a 30-year-old coach at Glenville State, a 44-year-old coach at WVU or today at age 62.

“There are so many people that did so much in order for you to have success, and that winning locker room you see everybody hugging each other and high fiving each other and all that kind of stuff. That’s kind of the thrill that keeps me going,” he said.

Today, tomorrow, next week or next month, Rich Rodriguez is consumed by one thing – how does he win the next play?

“I’m only worried about the first play against Robert Morris at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30,” he concluded.

The only thing different now than the last time he led a West Virginia football team out of the tunnel is the jog might be a little bit slower. 

His mind, however, is working faster than ever.