Lane Kiffin calls for NIL ‘rookie cap’ for incoming high school players

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LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is calling for a NIL “rookie cap” to be implemented across the sport. And while talk of a “salary cap” could lead to potential antitrust lawsuits, Kiffin believes something must be done to rein in the rising cost of players that have never played a down of college football.

“Our system is a little bit screwed up in my opinion,” Kiffin said Thursday morning during his podium appearance at the 2026 SEC Football Kickoff Media Days event in Tampa. “The kids that haven’t played at all coming out of high school should be making less. … There should be a freshman or rookie cap (for how much they can make), and then (have) max slots per position that they make. Then they’re signed to multi-year contracts, so no you do really get into building through high school because that guy could stay longer.”

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This declaration from Kiffin comes as the price for incoming freshmen have skyrocketed recently. Five-Star Plus+ running back David Gabriel Georges, who committed to Tennessee on Wednesday, is expected to make approximately $2 million as a true freshman with the Volunteers, according to On3 insider Pete Nakos. It would be the highest dollar figure a first-year running back has made in the NIL era, far eclipsing the roughly $750,000 that Michigan freshman Savion Hiter was paid last year, per Nakos.

Earlier this month, Nakos reported June was one of the most expensive months for high school recruiting of the NIL era as college football teams sought to shore up their 2027 and 2028 recruiting classes this summer. One unnamed SEC general manager even told Nakos that “$350,000 was the starting price for a low four-star” prospect this recruiting cycle: “We’ve reached the period where everyone has an agent. There are no layups anymore in high school recruiting. Nothing is even reasonably priced.”

Another SEC general manager with a Top-20 recruiting class this cycle told On3 that they expected to spend between $7-8 million for a Top 25 high school class alone. And that’s not to mention the ever-rising cost to both retain current players and add high-dollar transfers during the January portal window.

New Miami quarterback Darian Mensah currently leads all college athletes with a $6.5 million NIL valuation according to On3’s valuation chart after transferring from Duke to Coral Gables on the final day of the January portal window. Oregon QB Dante Moore, Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith, and Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss rank fourth, fifth, and eighth, respectively, on On3’s NIL Valuation chart at approximately $5 million.

One explanation for Kiffin’s calling for a “rookie cap” could be the more than $40 million LSU reportedly spent building its No. 5-ranked 2026 transfer class. That includes approximately $4.5 million on star quarterback Sam Leavitt (Arizona State), the No. 1 transfer in the portal according to On3’s player ranking, $4 million for elite offensive tackle Jordan Seaton (Colorado) and $1.5 million for pass rusher Princewill Umanmielen (Ole Miss) as the top-ranked players at their respective positions.

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