Was It Nick Saban, NIL Collectives Or Unlimited Transfers? NCAA Portal Record Broken With Over 3,800 Entries

What were the chances that the NCAA Transfer Portal period from the winter and spring would end up breaking the previous record set during the 2022-23 academic year? 

Well, when you add in the new rules surrounding NIL and the NCAA allowing players to have unlimited transfers as long as they are in good academic standing, the chances were pretty high that this record was going to be smashed. 

You guessed it, the portal record was broken during the spring period, with over 3,800 players entering the infamous route to a new school since the first portal period opened in the winter. This breaks the record of 3,502 players to enter the portal since its inception, and it was obvious from the last few months of NCAA legislation that this was going to happen. 

The exact number won't be known until the end of the week, due to graduate transfers being given an additional day.

It certainly should not come as a surprise that we surpassed the previous record, as players looked to cash-in on new NIL deals, along with trying to find more playing time. But what we've seen when it comes to some of these athletes switching schools twice in a four-month period has certainly aggravated a number of coaches around college football. 

For the guys who took a chance on one school during the winter period, this was more or less a tryout for the upcoming season. If you're in a good spot when it comes to playing time and financial deals, then there was no reason to look around. Now, that did not stop a number of players testing the mental strength of their school's collective. 

Jedd Fisch left the Arizona Wildcats for the Washington Huskies. (Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

How much does a school want to negotiate with a student-athlete to keep them on their current roster? A lot of this is out of the hands of the head coach, while NIL collectives were going over the numbers to see if it made sense to offer a certain player a new contract. While that defensive lineman might have had a productive year and would've been penciled into a leadership role for the following season, sometimes the money they are asking for isn't enough for a return on investment. 

If you follow college football, then you most likely noticed how many star players actually entered the portal. There weren't that many significant names this cycle, right? Yes, you did not miss anything during the ongoing notifications on your phone of players entering their name into the database. 

There's a case to be made that former Arizona State quarterback Jaden Rashada was the biggest position name to enter during this spring period, which only last 15 days this time around, compared to the longer period during the winter. 

There's also the Nick Saban ripple-effect, but we'll get to that in a bit. If anything, what we have seen from these collectives around college campuses has been centered around keeping rosters intact, and doing a good enough job at building relationships to keep players from leaving. 

NIL Collectives Did A Great Job From Preventing Full Blown Dissension 

When an East Tennessee judge decided to rule in favor of the players during an antitrust hearing back in late February, there were a lot of collectives around the country that went into overdrive to protect their roster. What could've led to a mass exodus for some schools due to star players looking for a few extra bucks in their NIL deals, turned into these collectives coming up with ways to keep them from shopping around. 

In a day and age where so-called NIL agents are trying to take over the landscape, it seemed as though a majority of high-profile athletes saw through the sleazy pitches. And if you're wondering how some of these conversations played out over the last few months, it definitely weeded out a number of these pretenders. 

"I can't count how many times I had someone call me saying they represent a player on our roster, acting as their agent, looking for more money to stay on the roster," one Power-5 collective CEO told OutKick. "A lot of times, these players had no idea someone was speaking on their behalf, behind their backs. There were so many times that a family member would call and try to renegotiate a contract, without that player actually knowing. This has turned into a cruel business, that has broken many relationships. 

"But our plan has been to always take care of our guys and present the best offers we can for them. If the star defensive lineman has a good season and wants to talk about the potential for more money to stay, then we'll have that conversation. But we are not going to become an ATM machine for these athletes. We can't give you everything you want because you are popular with the fans. This is a business, and if the terms aren't favorable for both sides, then that player can shop his name around. The funny thing is that some of these guys don't think we find out that they've had their agents shopping around during the season. We (Collectives) might work to help opposing schools, but a majority of us talk on a weekly basis."

When it comes to keeping a roster intact, coaches know that they prevent a player from becoming starstruck by a dollar-figure that some other school might offer. This is a business, just as much for the coaches as with the players on their roster. And sometimes, you just have to cut bait, even though you obviously don't want to lose that starting lineman. 

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 24: Head coach Josh Heupel of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates a win over the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium on September 24, 2022 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 38-33. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)

Did The Nick Saban Ripple-Effect Cause Players To Look Around?

Sure it did. Do you remember the coaching carousel that occurred once the former Alabama coach announced his retirement? It was damn near nuclear for college football, with coaches switching schools like a game of ‘Go Fish’. 

The domino effect that started during the winter carried over into the 15-day period for these past two weeks. 

But this was also a situation that does not happen very often in the sport, especially to that magnitude. Once Saban retired, Alabama players started looking around, but one of the main problems was the timing of it all, with school getting ready to start, or already beginning for most. Then, Kalen DeBoer left Washington after playing for a national title, which then led to Jedd Fisch leaving Arizona for the Huskies job. This led to San Jose State's Brent Brennan taking the Wildcats job, while Jim Harbaugh was packing up his RV for the West Coast and the NFL. 

TUSCALOOSA, AL - APRIL 18:  Head coach Nick Saban of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide watches action during the A-day spring game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on April 18, 2015 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

How about Chip Kelly leaving the UCLA job to take the OC position at Ohio State, all the while Boston College had to find a new head coach after Jeff Hatley left to become the DC for the Green Bay Packers. This led to Bill O'Brien taking the Boston College job, while South Alabama lost its head coach, Kane Wommack, as he became the DC at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer.

When it comes to why players entered the portal, a number of folks have differing opinions. I spoke with ON3 reporter Pete Nakos to get his thoughts on why he thought this period was the one to break the portal record. 

"As of Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. ET, more than 3,800 FBS players have entered the transfer portal in the 2023-24 academic year. This spring window, while not dripping with talent, has been filled with FCS and Group of 5 players looking to move up and Power 4 depth athletes finding a spot for playing time. The coaching carousel basically carrying into March has certainly played a factor mixed with the updated transfer legislation." 

Get the picture now? It was full-blown chaos for three weeks, and a lot of those players had to make a quick decision about whether to ride it out until the spring portal period, or use the 30-day window for a head coach leaving to transfer. 

As for a school like Colorado, they are churning players in and out of the portal like the building is on fire. Sure, Deion Sanders has his way of doing things, and his thought-process regarding certain needs to make his team competitive is different than others, but he'll either proclaim victory or die on the hill trying. Sanders is putting together a roster around Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, which is one way to do it, knowing that this is the last season for both players. 

BOULDER, CO - SEPTEMBER 16:  Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrates with quarterback Shedeur Sanders #2 after a fourth quarter touchdown against the Colorado State Rams at Folsom Field on September 16, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The situation is so different at Colorado that I don't think fans of the sport can truly wrap their brains around the roster turnover in the past eighteen months. But this is how Coach Prime has chosen to build, though I don't know if ‘build’ is the right word. He wants to prove so many people wrong that he's piecing together a roster that the Colorado faithful are hoping can become a cohesive unit before the 2024 season begins. 

If he can pull it off and lead the Buffaloes to a bowl game, it will be seen as a success. If he comes up short in the second season, it will be defined as a proving point that this type of turnstile recruiting doesn't work. 

So when we look at the two portal windows, it's not as surprising to see the number of names that have entered. The only surprising part was the lack of high-profile names that actually entered, which can be traced back to schools and collectives taking care of their roster, and knowing which players to fight or pay-up for when the time came to talk about the future. .