OPINION: Will programs like Carolina Football Sink or Swim in the era of NFLilization in College Football?

By Ali Shaw

The third-string quarterback of the Maryland Terrapins allegedly entered the office of head coach Mike Locksley and laid his chips on the table.

“I need $100,000 or I'm going into the portal.”

Such a story opens an already resealed can of worms where if this is what a third-stringer is waltzing into a coach’s office for – what in the world was someone like Drake Maye asking for when he de-committed from Alabama to play for the Tar Heels.

College football is slowly phasing into a new era, one that Coach Mack Brown of the University of North Carolina brandished the “NFLilization of the sport”, a metamorphosis into a profit-driven division.

Changes are being made – the big one of course being Name Image and Likeness, that are shifting D1 football for the better or the worst that’s for us to decide – so let’s theorise how those changes will look using our blue blood basketball school as a test subject.

Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen.

George Kittle, San Francesco 49ers

Starting next year, college playoffs will look very different. That 4.8 magnitude earthquake felt in New York may be down to the celebrations in Tallahassee, as Florida State celebrates never being snubbed again.

12 teams will now be selected, and of that, the four highest seeds will receive buys into the next round that will be played on Dec 20th-21st.

Alabama, Michigan, Texas and Georgia, we will see you in the quarterfinals where heralded bowl games have become these fixtures.

“I think it’s going to change the way people look at programs,” says Coach Brown.

Will this change the expectations set upon coaches and players with the level now being you have to make the playoffs or you're fired, Coach Brown said.

Could playoffs promote competitive play between colleges, decreasing the gap between the best and the not-so-best of D1?

Herein lies our first point of contention, a concept that prevents change in all sports around the world: diminishing tradition. The Rose Bowl began its century-long tradition in 1902 and it’s a fixture that typically plays host to two of the best college teams in the nation.

Does having less competitive affairs dilute its importance, potentially, but with the attempt of something new it will always be hit or miss. Will we see a repeat of Georgia’s decimation of Texas Christian University in the CFP final, or will we see a reality where a program like UNC’s which could find its way as a 12th seed ends up toppling the establishment.

Upsets, heartbreaks and sheer entertainment are why March Madness draws the attention it does. College football taking a page of its book could lead to any possible reality.

With such upsets and changing of the guard, notoriety and money can be earned by programs such as UNC to bolster its rep amongst recruits and serve up a bigger and better NIL package.

This NFL playoff model idea is something Coach Brown has taken note of and has a simple idea of why college football is finally implementing a proper playoff.

“I think they're having it to make more money, so they should pay the players more money.”

There needs to be a college football commissioner.

Nick Saban, Former Head Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide

No third-string quarterback should stumble into the front office with no damn demands, is what the most likely stance shared in a sports bar is. ‘A blemish against the hierarchy’ most would think, but what if we just thought about it for a second?

Many players that are recruited to play come from modest backgrounds; Coach Brown continued to say. College football and the NCAA recorded $1.3 billion in 2023 off these players, they see the attention, the TV deals, who wouldn’t as an excitably teenage kid ask and expect a sum that reflects their marketability.

“Every coach in the country is happy that athletes are getting paid,” said Coach Brown. “The mistake with NIL was there were no guidelines.”

The problem is NIL has opened a Pandora’s box of some sort, where taking another page out of the NFL may be the only way to close it.

“We used to get in trouble because some players had agents 14 years ago, you’ve been telling me my whole life we can’t pay him now all of a sudden hey buster, you need to pay this guy.” Coach Brown said.

Now we have the discussion of salary caps, something I would have to arguably say is carried out well in the NFL.

“You’ll have salary caps and pay the left tackle this, and the right tackle this and the quarterback will get this much.”

Do we implement a sort of hard cap to level the playing field preventing Texas from hoarding three five-star quarterbacks and ensuring NIL is distributed fairly to all sports at that college?

Do we also face an issue where the profit collected after the hard cap is distributed to stakeholders rather than the ones battling out on the field?

It’s a dilemma, yet the NFLilization does offer a solution, but is it a good one?

END