Lane Kiffin: NIL, switch portal are ‘legalized dishonest’ in faculty soccer

Lane Kiffin blasted title, picture and likeness (NIL) compensation and the switch portal throughout Thursday’s SEC Media Day, calling faculty soccer’s new system “a catastrophe.”

The Ole Miss head coach likened the game to a “pay-for-play” system that helps large faculties whereas smaller faculties don’t know whether or not they’ll retain their high expertise from one yr to the subsequent. 

“We’ve this NIL, it’s nice, and this portal, it’s nice. Whoa. And I’m not saying I used to be the one one saying it. Whoa, this can be a catastrophe coming since you simply legalized dishonest and also you simply instructed donors they will pay the gamers is what you probably did,” Kiffin stated at a press convention.

“And it’s purported to be arrange — nicely, actually it’s in your title, picture, likeness, in your advertising. Once more, that’s not what occurred. That’s not what’s taking place. They’re getting paid to go to high school. So it’s pay-for-play.”

“If you add the NIL on the similar time, we now have created, I’ve stated it earlier than, we’ve acquired completely different caps and no luxurious taxes,” Kiffin added. “So we’ve acquired skilled sports activities, as a result of that basically is what we’re, what’s been created now, and there’s no caps on what guys could make or what groups’ payrolls are.”

Kiffin has actually used the switch portal to his benefit because it got here into existence in 2018.

This season, Ole Miss acquired 20 gamers via the portal, together with Oklahoma State quarterbacks Spencer Sanders and five-star LSU recruit Walker Howard. 

Final season’s beginning quarterback for the Rebels, Jaxson Dart, additionally got here to Oxford via the portal.

“That’s the world we stay in,” Kiffin stated. “However on the similar time, I don’t suppose that’s actually good for school soccer. These large overhauls of rosters yearly actually just isn’t in one of the best curiosity of faculty soccer.

“There’s form of your state of union on the scenario of what all coaches are coping with across the nation — actually, a poor system that isn’t getting higher and now’s going to worsen.” 

Kiffin is getting into his fourth season as the pinnacle coach of the Rebels. 

Ole Miss completed 8-5 final season and is 23-13 total since Kiffin took over in 2020.