How LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly flipped the script on the NIL conversation in latest interview
For many college football fans the era of NIL (name, image, and likeness) for student athletes has been one met with mixed emotions. Yes, the vast majority of fans like that the players are finally getting paid, but there's also for many a feeling of disloyalty and constant worry surrounding teams losing their best stars […]
For many college football fans the era of NIL (name, image, and likeness) for student athletes has been one met with mixed emotions. Yes, the vast majority of fans like that the players are finally getting paid, but there's also for many a feeling of disloyalty and constant worry surrounding teams losing their best stars to the Transfer Portal. And this off-season, LSU's Brian Kelly has been one of the most heavily criticized head coaches in the sport for his views (or at least what is perceived to be his views) on NIL.
However, in an interview with William Salvi of Entrepreneur.com as a part of his "The CEO Series", Brian Kelly took advantage of the opportunity to flip the script on public perception of his views on NIL. He talked through–in detail–what this new era of revenue sharing paired with NIL benefits for players is going to look like. His comments might surprise some, but not LSU fans who understand how he's felt about NIL all along.
"NIL is such a complicated and ever-moving piece. Since revenue sharing now will be a part of what we're looking at in 2025, NIL will really be about those premier names that are in your program. They'll be able to get out in the community and really take advantage of their name, image, and likeness. Other than that it's going to be revenue sharing. So the collectives then will begin to shrink because a lot of the money now will be generated through the university. And the university will then move that money to the student athletes."
Kelly couldn't help but smile when talking about how good it's going to be moving towards a revenue sharing model and the collectives beginning to shrink. For those that missed it, this spring Kelly took some heat as he had stated that LSU didn't intend on simply "buying players", making it seem like he was out of touch with the current reality of college football, collectives, and player compensation.
But in reality, for those who took the time to listen to his whole interview, it was clear that Kelly just simply wanted the emphasis to be placed more so on the development of players. And not only that, he called for an "NFL salary cap" like model, which–thanks to the House vs. NCAA settlement this spring–is pretty much exactly what we're going to get now.
All Kelly wanted with NIL is for there to be some sense of clarity and consistency in terms of compensation for players so that the focus for his team could be in the right place. It was not that he had a problem with players getting paid.
"The collectives opened up to agents. And so every player had an agent that was dealing through a third party. And you had no idea what that looked like. Now, with the revenue sharing piece, you know that everybody is in a similar ball park relative to what it would be like in an NFL salary cap situation…So this is going to bring some sanity back into what is now an entirely different market because the players are getting revenue sharing. But it's one now that we can deal directly with the players."
This revenue sharing model that directly benefits players (not agents and third parties) is exactly what Brian Kelly wanted all along. It was never that he didn't want players getting their fair share. He just simply wanted clarity. And the great part of this new model, Kelly believes, is that it will allow players to focus on what they really care about–what they've always cared about. And that's playing the game of football.
And Kelly's not only excited about players being properly compensated. He's also happy that the team can help players with simple practical things that help bring joy and make their lives less complicated.
"Now we can help them get their parents to the game. We can help them with transportation and housing, and things of that nature…which can get them I think back to getting your degree. And help them get back to playing the game and developing and getting better at what you love to do the most…I think we can bring this thing back to where it started. And even though there is a financial piece to it the universities are footing that because they have been the ones that have been getting the compensation for it. So I think it's a good thing."
Does that sound like a coach who doesn't want his players to get paid? Does it sound like someone who doesn't want to take care of his players? No. Brian Kelly wants his players to grow, learn, and reach their fullest potential as they compete for national championships together. And starting in 2025, when revenue sharing begins to standardize player compensation, hopefully coaches like Brian Kelly can help take their teams back to the basics so that we can all focus on what we really care about most: the football being played on the field.
Be looking for more LSU Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to catch the whole 26-minute interview Brian Kelly had with William Salvi and Entrepreneur.com you can find that here in the video below!
