Sports

College Football Playoff Team Bribing Players With NIL Inducements To Combat Transfer Portal

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A College Football Playoff logo on the field.

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The College Football Playoff is set to kick off on Friday when Indiana battles Notre Dame. One member of the 12-team field is finding it difficult to keep its roster intact.

Despite the fact that the squad is competing for a national championship, coaches are reportedly being forced to beg players to stay. Former Alabama offensive lineman Mike Johnson says NIL inducements are being used to bribe those team members from hitting the transfer portal.

“I heard today, from a really reliable source, that there is a team in the College Football Playoff that is actively paying its players to stay throughout the Playoff so they will have enough people to practice with,” Johnson claimed. The possibility being a national champ isn’t enough.

Johnson wouldn’t name the team that he referenced. Some have taken their best guesses. Many tabbed Arizona State as the program. Head coach Kenny Dillingham has seen a number of players enter the portal this postseason. In most cases, he’s commended those decisions while allowing them to continue playing with the team.

Some speculated that the team could be a CFP newcomer like Indiana, Boise State, or SMU. Others floated the possibilities of a Notre Dame or Georgia, teams that haven’t seen much transfer portal attrition to this point. No matter the squad, it’s certainly provided an interesting and unexpected dynamic.

The timing of the transfer portal window has been criticized by numerous coaches as it forces them to recruit in the midst of postseason preparations. Apparently, not even a national championship pursuit can keep players from listening to outside offers.

College football continues to evolve as this form of free agency becomes more common. Until guardrails are placed on NIL and the transfer portal, these kinds of issues will continue to arise.