North Carolina HC Mack Brown's Comments On NIL Tampering Reflect Frustrating Trend Within College Football: Grayson Weir

University of North Carolina head coach Mack Brown is frustrated by the current state of college football. More specifically, the 71-year-old is irritated with the role that NIL plays with roster management and how it has become a key component to cross-program tampering.

He's not alone in that thinking. Coaches across the country have voiced concerns with the ongoing issues surrounding Name, Image and Likeness.

Lane Kiffin may be the most prominent (or loudest) voice.

With that said, Brown's recent comments on NIL reflect a frustrating trend within the sport.

Coaches are pointing fingers while claiming innocence. Those two things, in most scenarios, cannot coexist. It's just not possible.

College football is (still) a professional sport.

In April, Brown spoke to how an "amateur sport" (college football was never a fully amateur sport) has become a professional sport. He likened it to a mini NFL.

Kiffin recently echoed that sentiment at SEC Media Days and used Lionel Messi, LeBron James and Tom Brady to make his point.

Hugh Freeze spoke to how roster management in the NIL era keeps him up at night.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier signed a new NIL deal to stay in Baton Rouge, not unlike NFL free agency.

Kedon Slovis turned down multiple NIL offers from SEC schools to play at BYU. Texas had to pay out significant NIL money to its backup quarterback just to keep him from transferring.

These are just a few examples of how NIL money is impacting college football.

The basic NIL principle is simple:

Programs with greater NIL affluence are able to acquire and retain talent in a way that less wealthy programs cannot. Players, whether it be a high school recruit or transfer portal entry, are often focused on securing the biggest check.

They are starting to figure out what they are worth. Everything else unravels from there.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Not every college athlete is seeking the most money.

But money is part of every conversation. It plays a big role.

NIL, at its core, is a great thing — players are finally being compensated properly for their worth.

At the same time, a myriad of issues have come from its existence. All of them could have been foreseen, and most of them could have been solved by a strong governing body, which the NCAA is not.

One of the most prominent NIL problems is tampering.

Programs with larger bankrolls are trying to poach talent from schools that have less NIL money. The one-time transfer rule factors heavily into that equation as well.

Tampering and inducements are nothing new in college athletics. It's just out in the open.

NIL has also escalated the shenanigans to a new level. Coaches, like Washington State's Jake Dickert, are pissed.

Trent Dilfer, in his first year at UAB, has been very vocal about the issues. As a G5 program, he does not have the NIL budget of other P5 schools in his state, ie: Auburn and Bama.

If one of his players has an incredible year, the odds are high that said player will be contacted with an opportunity to transfer. That move likely includes an NIL package greater than the bag he is getting in Birmingham, if he is even getting one at all.

Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed is a great example.

As is former South Dakota State tight end Tucker Kraft.

The same thing is and will continue to happen with UAB. And it's not just happening on the G5 level.

Ole Miss saw it with Quinshon Judkins. The Rebels' top NIL arm had to renegotiate its deal with the star running back to keep him around.

With all of this happening behind-the-scenes, Dilfer is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that his roster remains in tact. Even if he must burn it all down.

Dilfer is going down the intimidation route. Whether it will work or not is to be seen.

Regardless of what happens, there is a bigger conversation to be had around the way coaches are approaching the issue. Some, if not many of them are not being entirely honest.

Mack Brown isn't really calling it how it is.

Coaches like Dilfer, Kiffin, Dickert and Brown are speaking up. Nick Saban lobbied for change in Washington D.C. Even the late Mike Leach offered his unique perspective on the future of the sport.

That's all great! Change cannot happen without friction.

However, the "holier than thou" attitudes are getting out of hand.

Brown recently blasted NIL tampering.

I don't think it could get any worse. It was awful the first two years. People were just absolutely paying cash to get guys off your team. That's not what we're doing. You don't need to recruit a guy and then have to recruit him twice. I'm having to say in recruiting, 'Let's recruit guys that, when they play really good, they're not going to leave us.' That's a huge part of this.

His comments are fair.

Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye was reportedly offered a lot of money to leave in the offseason. Brown has seen tampering first hand and has his concerns. He's not the only one.

There is just one part of what Brown said that is getting rather old.

Coaches across the country are echoing Brown's statement. Tampering is a problem, but it's "not what we're doing."

He, not me!

How can it be such a big problem if nobody is actually doing it themselves? Wouldn't that mean that nobody is tampering? In which case it would not be a problem after all? Hmmm...

North Carolina added 10 transfers during the offseason.

Some of the transfers came from G5 programs, some of them came from the FCS level, some of them from P5 programs and some of them from fellow ACC programs. All of them landed in Chapel Hill.

By Brown's account, not one of them had UNC in mind before entering the portal. Not one of them was contacted by his staff before they announced their decisions to leave their former schools. Not one of them had NIL opportunities in mind.

That could very well be true. There is a palpable around the Tar Heels. It's not impossible to imagine a world where Brown is not leaving out details.

But...... is it? Is it really?

College football coaches are so quick to sound the NIL tampering alarm while claiming that they are not the ones doing it. Nobody is tampering, even though they are all frustrated by tampering. Those two things do not add up and it's exhausting. Let's call a spade a spade.