Urban Meyer Says NIL Collectives Are Just ‘Cheating’
Urban Meyer is not a fan of the current NIL system.
Appearing on The Lou Holtz Podcast this week, the three-time national champion coach blasted the current status of name, image and likeness earnings in college football by calling it "cheating." Meyer said NIL is "great" but lamented the "arms race" it has created.
"If you're a woman basketball player like the great girl from Iowa [Caitlin Clark] and they want to put her on a billboard and pay her, they should be able to do that," Meyer said. "But that's not what happened. What's happened is the arms race of collecting money from donors and the donors are simply paying players. That's what I understand is happening, and I don't like that."
Urban Meyer spent more than three decades coaching in college football.
(Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)
Meyer last coached college football in 2018 at Ohio State — and it's a different world now. Since Meyer's departure, NIL, unlimited transferring and conference realignment have changed the entire landscape of the sport.
"I think NIL, and I sat in those committees for many, many years, I think it’s great," Meyer said. "I think if it’s capitalism, for example, if a great player like Marvin Harrison Jr. and some car dealership in town wants to hire him, they want to put his name on a billboard and pay him money, sign autographs, he wants to put something on an Instagram or they sell that. But that’s not what’s happened, coach. What’s happened is it’s cheating."
Urban Meyer Knows A Thing Or Two About Cheating
And not just on his wife.
Meyer's coaching days came with plenty of scandal. As head coach of the Florida Gators, Meyer faced an extended investigation after it was discovered he had given certain players preferential treatment with what he referred to as the "circle of trust." Being part of this circle meant that Meyer would reportedly provide preferential treatment — like hiding positive drug tests.
Also, a whopping 31 of his players were arrested during his six years as the Gators' coach.
So then he brought his baggage to Ohio State. In 2018, Meyer went on administrative leave after reports surfaced that he knew about spousal abuse allegations against assistant coach Zach Smith.
Urban Meyer's college football programs were rocked with scandals.
(Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
But NIL money, according to Meyer, crosses the line.
"There’s these things called collectives, where they go out and get money from donors, and they get this big, giant mass of money and they pay players. And that’s not what the intent is," Meyer said. "That name and likeness is, that’s America. America is built on name and likeness.
"…but to have a 17-year-old demand money for a visit, to pay these players a lot of money to go visit a charity for 20 minutes and they write you a check for $50,000, that's cheating. That's not what this is all about. I'm very disappointed in where it went."
Collectives function independently of the university's jurisdiction, but in certain states, university officials (including coaches and athletic department personnel) are allowed to endorse collectives. However, those employed by the university are prohibited from making financial contributions.
Ironically, Meyer himself is a board member of THE Foundation — an NIL collective for Ohio State football and basketball. So it's almost like "cheating" is OK …if he's the one doing it.