In college football today, it’s a commonly known fact that programs have to spend large sums of money to attract recruits, especially those in the transfer portal. The amount of money that programs spend in the transfer portal is hard to comprehend.
We saw figures like $4 million being thrown out about Miami Hurricanes transfer Carson Beck and $2 million being spent by the UCLA Bruins to bring in Tennessee Volunteers transfer Nico Iamaleava.
While paying this money has become commonplace in college football, one analyst believes almost none of these players are worth what they are being given.
Tom Luginbill Breaks Down Why Transfer Portal Spending Is Out of Control
While colleges have no choice on how much they spend in the transfer portal, as there is no salary cap and no real regulation, ESPN’s Tom Luginbill believes that the price tag often doesn’t match the talent.
In an interview on the “Craig and Company” podcast, Luginbill explained why he doesn’t believe these portal players deserve to be paid as much as they are.
“All of this money is being thrown around, and you’re sitting there saying, ‘Is anyone in college football who isn’t Cam Ward or Jalen Milroe last year, is anyone worth $800,000 to $1 million?’ Have they shown they’re worth that yet?” Luginbill said.
It’s a valid point, as aside from a select few players in the portal each year, the vast majority of transfers have little experience and have not proven to be top players at their position.
Still, schools will pay them ridiculous amounts of money because these transfers are often the only option for these programs to improve their roster over the offseason.
Not only is the money inflated due to the low amount of available instant impact talent each offseason, but programs do not have to divulge how much they offer a player, leading to schools bidding in the dark and often overspending.
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Due to this, Luginbill believes portal spending needs more regulation and transparency, and that an NFL free-agency model would improve the transfer portal market, where players would be paid at their actual value.
“The NFL has rules, and the information on what everyone is making is public,” Luginbill said. “So the market is set. You know who’s the highest paid guy, you know who’s the lowest paid guy, you know who’s performed, who’s underperformed, who’s overperformed. So the market gets set through verifiable evidence. That’s not what happens in this world we’re living in.”
The House v. NCAA settlement, allowing programs to pay their players directly through a revenue-sharing model, should help fix some of the transfer portal’s most significant problems. Still, Luginbill’s call for more transparency and a complete market reset will take time.
