Did 'Sliced Bread' Change College Football Forever? Jimbo Fisher Says The NIL Era Was Tainted On A Lie Amid His Texas A&M Tenure

In the first public interview since his firing at Texas A&M, former head coach Jimbo Fisher says that one lie about NIL during his tenure changed the college football world.

After securing one of the largest contracts in college football history, Jimbo Fisher is now relaxing, while cashing checks from the Aggies. A tenure filled with high expectations that turned into a running joke at times, it seemed as though Jimbo had everything he needed in College Station.

At the end of the day, it only turned into a circus for the football program and Fisher himself, while the rest of the world wondered how it would come to an end. Turns out, a massive check had to be written to get Jimbo out of his own way, in what happened to be one of the wildest tenures in the last twenty years.

As crazy as it sounds, Jimbo Fisher most likely won't be remembered for his on-field record or lucrative contract. No, it will be the infamous period of time in which NIL first arrived on the scene and Texas A&M found itself taking advantage of the system.

In an interview with 'Pardon My Take', the former Aggies head coach says that one lie from an interesting source changed college football. You can watch the interview here, in which Jimbo Fisher discusses NIL.

Jimbo Fisher Says 'Sliced Bread' Changed The Sport

The now legendary press conference from Jimbo Fisher on the heels of Nick Saban mentioning that the Aggies bought their entire 2021 recruiting class will live on forever. The problem Jimbo Fisher had with the whole fiasco and a message board poster that went by the name 'Sliced Bread' just so happened to change how NIL is used in the sport.

It seems like yesterday that Nick Saban sat on the stage in Birmingham and called out Texas A&M for using NIL to its advantage. This was the first time a head coach had called out another school in the early life of Name, Image and Likeness, which sent Jimbo Fisher into damage control.

In his eyes, the $35 million dollars that was allegedly spent on A&M's recruiting class was the day college football changed forever, thanks to one person with a legendary username, 'Sliced Bread'.

“College football changed on a lie. I am going to write a book on this one day," Jimbo Fisher noted. "I am going to write a book. When he wrote those numbers, I said, ‘My God, where is it at?’ … The amount of NIL deals at A&M at that time in all sports combined – he said we (bought) our class with $35 million. There was right at $1 million for all sports combined.

“That is why it upset me so much about it. You can insinuate all those things that have always been said. But you are insinuating that the families of – and I am telling you, that was as far from the truth as anything that was ever out there."

Jimbo Is Giving Himself Too Much Credit For NIL

I give credit to Jimbo Fisher for a few things, including his national championship and somehow getting Texas A&M to award him a $100 million contract. But it was Jimbo's remarks that seem to have him living in a fantasy world, saying every media member covering college football ran with the NIL money figure.

"And here is the big thing: all of the media went and ran with that story as truthful without ever checking it," Fisher went on to say. "And I am talking about the big dogs. I am talking about all of the people we regarded as highly-respected guys. College football changed on a lie. I am going to write a book about it one day.”

Sorry Jimbo, but most folks had done their due-diligence during that time period and investigated how much money some of those players in that recruiting class were being offered. The high six-figures was a common number for the star athletes in the class, some of which got more.

But Jimbo Fisher wants you to believe that Texas A&M spent $1 million on NIL, which covered all sports on-campus. Sorry to burst the bubble, but the Aggies were receiving money from donors who were tired of losing, so spare me the $1 million nonsense.

At the end of the day, Jimbo Fisher did not win enough games with the talent put together or signed during what is now called 'free agency'. Sure, there were other factors that led to his ouster in College Station, but he was given more time than most coaches get in the college football community.

In terms of NIL, I think we can all agree with Jimbo Fisher on one thing.

"And now, it has turned into a zoo.”