College football has never had a salary cap, but could you imagine if they did? For now, Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers rely on making Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) financial offers to athletes in the hopes of recruiting top prospects to play football in the Bayou.
Yet, many figures throughout college football have been very outspoken about the current system, raising questions about how level the playing field is and wondering if there should be a limit or cap on how much can or should be spent.
Count Coach Kelly as one of the skeptics. He feels college football is “crazy” for how it’s handling NIL money without having a salary cap, much like we see in other sports such as the NFL.
“Look, Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, they’re all looking for that rookie signing bonus. You know, we’re out there recruiting seniors in high school. They’re looking for that freshman signing bonus. The transfer portal, he’s looking for a free-agent bonus. And then the guys on your roster, they want retention bonuses. So, look, it parallels. NIL money is broken down into the three categories that the NFL is paying out, and we’re doing the same thing. Unfortunately, we’re doing without a salary cap and that’s where it makes it just absolutely crazy.”
LSU Tigers coach Brian Kelly calling for college football salary cap
Ultimately, it seems Kelly is worried about how level the playing field is. Still, as an LSU coach, he’s in a much more advantageous position than most of his fellow college football coaches at smaller programs who aren’t in the SEC.
Plus, Coach Kelly makes far more than any of the superstar athletes he’s coached over the years, yet no one is calling for a college football salary cap for him.
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