Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick Calls NIL A 'Mess'

Fighting Irish players and their college football brethren have had no trouble finding a pot of gold over the last two seasons. And that doesn't sit well with Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick.

Notre Dame's AD since 2008, Swarbrick has taken issue with the NCAA's Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) system. NIL is making players millions of dollars in somewhat questionable fashion, though many originally anticipated the system to be little more than regulated pocket change for student athletes.

“It’s a mess. We as college athletics have completely screwed this up," Swarbrick said Wednesday during a livestream from the ND Loyal YouTube channel. "The intention, and we were the first university to speak out in favor of Name, Image and Likeness ideas, the intention was to put student-athletes in a position that every other student at Notre Dame enjoys. Which is, they can benefit from their Name, Image, Likeness and ideas."

Notre Dame tight end George Takacs (85) runs during a game against Georgia Tech on November 20, 2021. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).

As Swarbrick (and many others) see it, the student athletes should be allowed to monetize their Name, Image, Likeness and earn a living, but their needs to be rules and regulations that prevent players from being paid specifically to attend a certain school.

“What we never anticipated was that it would come online with no regulation and that it would come online coupled with the unlimited right to transfer. It’s created an untenable situation, frankly, that most of what’s going on has nothing to do with Name, Image and Likeness," Swarbrick added. "They are not commercial transactions where I am rewarding you for something great you’ve built or the fact you’ve got 5 million followers on your social media Web site.

"They are talent-acquisition fees, where I’m paying you to come to our school.”



Unfortunately for Swarbrick, the NCAA seems in no hurry to set or enforce any rules pertaining to NIL. Guess he has no choice but to rely on the luck of the Irish.

 

Follow along on Twitter: @OhioAF