Lane Kiffin Says College Football Is a 'Disaster' Because of NIL, Transfer Portal

Count Lane Kiffin among those not a fan of the NCAA's name, image and likeness policy.

Speaking Thursday in Nashville at the SEC media days, the Ole Miss Rebels head coach said the state of college football is a "disaster" because players follow where the money is thanks to NIL and the transfer portal, per ESPN's Alex Scarborough.

Kiffin said:

"That's the world we live in. But at the same time, I don't think that's really good for college football. These massive overhauls of rosters every year really is not in the best interest of college football."

"There's kind of your state of union on the situation of what all coaches are dealing with around the country -- really, a poor system that isn't getting better and now is going to get worse. Because again, now we just look at recruiting rankings and you're going to see that they're usually going to follow this donor base and what schools are going to decide to give the most money to the players. So is what it is. We'll deal with it like we do with everything else, but somehow it's got to get fixed because there's no system around it."

Student athletes weren't allowed to be paid through sponsorship deals until the NCAA announced the adoption of an NIL policy in June 2021.

Kiffin doesn't mind players getting paid but said that a consequence of NIL is a "pay-for-play" system that drives players to make their selection based on where they can get the most money, per Scarborough.

He made similar comments in December 2021, saying that athletes "a lot of times go to where they're going to get paid the most. No one else is saying that, maybe. But the kids say, 'This is what I'm getting here from [name, image and likeness].'"

Ole Miss is among those that have benefitted from the transfer portal and recruiting cycle, bringing in 40 new scholarship players this summer, including former Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders and former LSU quarterback Walker Howard, in addition to retaining former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart.

The Rebels also landed 16 recruits in the class of 2023, per 247Sports, including four-star safety Braxton Myers and four-star offensive lineman Brycen Sanders.

Additionally, Kiffin and the Rebels have played particularly well in the NIL era, posting a 23-13 record and earning a bowl appearance in each of the last three seasons.

Ole Miss is aiming for another bowl game berth in 2023. The Rebels open the season against Mercer on Sept. 2.