By: Clayton Wood, Contributing Writer
College football crossed the Rubicon the moment NIL became the primary driver of roster construction.
This isn’t amateur athletics with endorsements on the side anymore. It’s professional football with looser rules, worse contracts, and no adult supervision.
And the chaos we’re watching every December is exactly what you’d expect when you professionalize a sport but refuse to adopt professional structures.
One year rentals.
Mercenaries with no loyalty.
Players opting out the moment the math says “protect the bag.”
Fans asked to care deeply about rosters that reset annually.
None of this is surprising. What is surprising is how slow college football has been to admit reality.
If college football is now professional, the solution is obvious.
Copy the NFL. The NFL Solved This Problem Decades Ago
The NFL is not perfect, but it understands human incentives.
Players sign multi year contracts.
They earn more as they stay longer.
Teams invest in development because retention is built in.
Players who quit on the season do not get paid for games they do not play.
College football did the opposite.
It created a free for all where short term incentives dominate, long term development is irrational, and loyalty is treated as optional.
So here’s the fix:
1. Multi-Year NIL Contracts Should Be the Norm
Stop pretending yearly deals make sense.
Every NIL contract should be structured like a professional contract:
• 3–4 years in length
• Escalating pay in Years 3 and 4
• Retention bonuses tied to staying at the program
If a player leaves early, they leave real money on the table.
Right now, the incentive is to bounce as soon as a better offer appears. That is not a character flaw. It is a structural failure.
2. Fix the structure.Development Should Pay Better Than Hype
Under the current system, being a freshman star pays more than being a developed junior.
That is backwards.
NFL contracts reward longevity and improvement. College NIL should do the same.
Pay players more for:
• Staying
• Improving
• Graduating
• Becoming leaders in the locker room
Make development the most lucrative path.
3. Bowl Opt Outs Should Carry Financial Consequences
This will be controversial. Good.
If a player signs a multi-year NIL contract and opts out of a bowl game without injury, there should be financial penalties.
The NFL does not pay players who do not play. College football should not either.
Bowls are part of the season. Fans paid. Teammates showed up. Coaches prepared. Schools traveled. Quitting when it matters most should not be cost-free.
If a player wants full professional freedom, that’s fine. Declare for the draft. But if you take NIL money tied to team obligations, those obligations should matter.
4. Loyalty Must Be Incentivized, Not Romanticized
Fans keep asking for loyalty like it’s a moral appeal. That ship sailed.
You do not get loyalty by speeches. You get loyalty by incentives.
The NFL knows this. College football needs to learn it.
Multi-year deals.
Escalating compensation.
Clear consequences for opting out.
Clear rewards for staying.
This Isn’t Anti Player. It’s Pro Reality.
This isn’t about punishing athletes.
It’s about building a system that:
• Produces better football
• Creates real continuity
• Rewards development
• Protects fans from roster roulette
• Prepares players for the actual professional world
College football tried to go pro without growing up.
The fix is simple.
Stop pretending.
Adopt contracts.
Align incentives.
Copy what works.
The longer we wait, the worse the product gets.
College football didn’t lose its soul because of money.
It’s losing it because of chaos.
And chaos is always optional.
Clayton Wood is a Knoxville attorney, pastor and Vol fan who who runs Thrive and Wears Valley Ranch. He is a regular contributing writer for tristardaily.com.
