Bret Bielema critical on the state of NIL in college football: ‘We’re setting them up for failure’
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No matter how many years pass with NIL being the norm in college football, it will always feel a bit odd to some people. Years ago, something as simple as a $100 cash handout would have resulted in major violations for a program. That’s how Illinois head coach Bret Bielema remembers the game he grew up in.
Despite having players on his roster making hundreds of thousands of dollars — and some in the millions — Bielema still has a few holdups with NIL. While he is in favor of players being paid and getting their worth, Bielema still believes setting players up in the NIL world could be handled better.
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While speaking with Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Takepodcast, Bielema recalled a story from his playing days at Iowa. The story of his experience truly showcased the difference between college football in those days and the sport today.
“I remember in my senior year, we played a big rivalry game against Iowa State, and I told a coach that was at Iowa State, ‘It’s been a real pleasure kicking your ass the last five years. I’ve really enjoyed it. You’ve been a real prick,'” Bielema recalled. “I got annihilated, right? Like, just — they were threatening to suspend me, like I was a captain; I was a pretty good kid, never been in trouble. Coach (Hayden) Fry brought me in, and he sat me down. He’s like, ‘Hey, you can’t — we all know he’s a prick, you just can’t go around saying it.’ And a donor sent me — a big Iowa fan — sent me a $100 bill. I had never seen a $100 bill in my life. I literally took it in and turned it into the compliance office because I was afraid I was going to get in trouble.
“I could have done so much with that $100 bill. And now I tell guys coming in as high school players, I’m like, ‘Hey, we’re going to pay you $100,000. And, like, it took me 10 years of coaching before I got paid $100,000; I was a good football coach. And now these kids are getting this money coming in, which is awesome. I love it. But I think we’re setting them up for failure, right?”
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Bielema has come a long way in the college football world since that $100 bill. Just a few years back, he had to fend off multiple schools from luring away his quarterback, Luke Altmyer, who reportedly was being offered multiple transfer destinations for huge amounts. Instead, he remained loyal to Bielema.
Bielema explains how he decides who he pays
That loyalty that Altmyer showed Bielema is also evidence of how the coach chooses to use his program’s money on players. While some programs see potential in players and pay based on that, Bielema would rather reward those who have shown their capability.
“I think the other thing that kind of misleads people right now is there’s a lot of people that are paying kids to be great,” Bielema said. “I don’t think that’s the right approach. I think you pay kids that have been great. And just because you pay somebody a lot of money doesn’t mean they’re a great player. Just like when I hire coaches, I don’t pay someone a lot of money to be a great coach, I pay them because they’re a good coach, right?”
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