Troy Aikman will never give another dollar to UCLA for NIL. He gave money to a college football player who left the program after one season.
The Hall of Fame quarterback never met the player. The player never said thank you.
This is the reality of college football in 2025. A severe lack of regulation allows players to come and go as they please without any legitimate ties to one specific program or the financial compensation they received from that program.
College football players can transfer at will.
Aikman, a three-time Super Bowl champion, played two years of college football at Oklahoma and two years of college football at UCLA. He himself is a former transfer. He is not against transfers.
However, the current system is very different from the 1980s.
Troy Aikman was forced to sit out the entire 1986 season because of the transfer rules from that era. Nowadays players can transfer willy nilly through the portal whenever they so choose, as many times as they want. They are (in most circumstances) immediately eligible to play that next season at their new school. And they are often getting paid along the way.
It was the correct decision to allow college athletes to profit from their Names, Images and Likenesses. Unfortunately, the decision to allow NIL opened the floodgates for unchecked financial inducements.
Recruiting used to be (more) about culture fit, facilities, playing time, coaching staff, etc. Now it’s (even more) about money.
Ed Orgeron recently said it best. The bag men walk through the front door instead of the back.
Everyone knows the SEC was paying players before paying players was legal
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) December 9, 2025
Coach O with an incredible response on @BussinWTB 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/PvHvQK3Bdp
Money was always involved to some extend but the numbers are inflated by multiple zeros. And it’s no longer just the top recruits.
Many of the top players in college football are making more than $1 million. Most Big Ten/SEC starters are making at least a few thousand. At least.
But if they do not like their current situation (or paycheck), they can just hit the portal in search of more money. There is nothing to stop them. They rarely have to return the money to the school at which they started.
Some schools are starting to fight back against this broken system. For example, Georgia recently filed a $390,000 lawsuit against Damon Wilson. Wilson transferred to Missouri. The Bulldogs want their money back.
Troy Aikman donated NIL money to UCLA.
This kind of lawsuit from Georgia is a newer thing. It is not the norm, yet.
Just ask Troy Aikman!
He recently spoke about his experience with Name, Image and Likeness during an appearance on the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch. He will never donate money to an NIL fund again.
Aikman, a multimillionaire, gave money to the Bruins. It sounds like his donation was earmarked for a specific player.
Never said thank you for the money he received from Aikman. And then he left the program after one season. (Dante Moore?)
“I gave money to a kid, I won’t mention who. I’ve done it one time at UCLA, never met the young man. He was there a year, he left after the year. I wrote a sizable check, and he went to another school. I didn’t even get so much as a thank you note. So, it’s one of those deals, to where I’m done with NIL. I want to see UCLA be successful, but I’m done with it.”
Aikman is all for player empowerment. As a former transfer himself, he sees the value of the portal and the opportunity to change your current situation if you are an athlete who is in need of a fresh start. Fine. It is the monetary aspect that he hopes will soon be fixed.
“There’s gotta be some leadership at the very top that kind of cleans all of this up,” Aikman said. “Starting with players that accept money. There’s gotta be some accountability and responsibility on their behalf, to have to stick to a program.”
Troy Aikman will not give another dollar for NIL until that happens. Sorry, Bruins.