Lincoln Riley claims ‘there’s not just one part of the country paying players’ with NIL changes
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USC head coach Lincoln Riley didn’t mention the SEC by name Monday, but his message was unmistakable. The balance of power in college football is changing, and the SEC is no longer at the forefront of the sport.
Appearing on The Herd, Riley framed the NIL era as a turning point that has redistributed power across the sport. It’s helped allow programs outside of one traditional footprint to compete at the highest level.
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“Now there’s not just one part of the country paying players,” Riley stated. “Everybody’s able to do it and it’s a great thing because I think it’s been able to create a more level playing field.”
Riley, preparing to enter another season in the Big Ten, emphasized that while NIL remains imperfect, it has opened doors for programs willing to invest and adapt. In his view, that shift has already begun to reshape the competitive landscape.
“It’s obviously not a finished product,” Riley added. “But it has gotten better, there have been a lot of positives, and you’re going to continue to see a lot of great stories and new opportunities for different types of programs.”
Alas, the timing of Riley’s comments is notable. For the third consecutive season, a Big Ten program claimed the national championship. The Indiana Hoosiers capped off a perfect 16-0 campaign by defeating the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Indiana followed the Michigan Wolverines (2023) and the Ohio State Buckeyes (2024) atop the sport. Meanwhile, the SEC endured another difficult postseason.
SEC teams finished 4-8 in bowl games, with only one win coming against a Power Four opponent, Texas’ Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan. By contrast, the Big Ten went 11-4 in bowls, including a 3-1 mark against the SEC.
Paul Finebaum agrees, worried about the ‘mess the SEC is currently in’
That disparity prompted blunt commentary from ESPN’s Paul Finebaum earlier this offseason. He called the situation a full-blown crisis during an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show.
“There is no way to sugar-coat the mess the SEC is currently in,” Finebaum stated. “Indiana winning just made it worse. The paradigm shift is massive.”
Finebaum went further, suggesting that long-standing SEC safety nets, like recruiting dominance and historical prestige, no longer apply in the NIL era: “You don’t get four or five years anymore,” he added. “Not after what has happened this [season].”
All told, Riley’s comments and the results on the field paint a clear picture. The era of regional financial advantage is fading. While NIL hasn’t eliminated inequality, it has diversified it, and programs in the Big Ten are cashing in first. The monopoly is gone, and the results are starting to show.
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