Paul Finebaum questions Lane Kiffin's SEC Media Day NIL dig: "I found it hypocritical"
Paul Finebaum does not agree with the thoughts of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin on NIL and the transfer portal.
Although Kiffin said he was grateful by the step taken by NCAA for its players to profit from their talents, he also compared the NIL and transfer portal to legalizing betting at the SEC Media Days.
During his short tenure in the NFL, Kiffin held a record of 5-15. However, in the NCAA, Lane Kiffin has an 84-46 record. Paul Finebaum questioned the integrity of Kiffin, as Kiffin has used the transfer portal to strengthen his team.
"I found it hypocritical," Finebaum said. "I mean, this is a guy that has used the portal about as often and as effectively as any coach in the country. He's taken quarterbacks from two different schools. And not only that, but he also talked about how players are being ripped off of his roster."
Paul Finebaum picks up the pieces for Lane Kiffin, on by one
The ESPN insider went into the details of Lane Kiffin leaving Tennessee to join USC. Paul Finebaum accepted that the NIL and transfer portal are similar to legalized betting, but that the system is the same for everyone, and Kiffin has also taken advantage of it.
"He left Tennessee in the middle of the night to go to USC," Finebaum said. "He left the program in shambles in 2010. It's true that it is legalized cheating, but everyone knows that this is two years old. I found it odd that Lane Kiffin pick this moment to go off on NIL."
Finebaum said that Kiffin is not the right person to talk to about these issues, but his feelings are in the right place. The world is moving in a direction where money has started guiding players to teams.
Leaving college athletes aside, Soccer star Lionel Messi left the highest level of football at the age of 35 to come to America to promote soccer. Why? The reason is that he got a better offer from Inter Miami that he felt was better for his career.
Arguably, there will always be an undue advantage for teams with larger money bags. Isn't that what colleges prepares students for: to be ready to face what there is in the real world?