Swinney concerned about lack of common sense with NIL

Swinney says the NIL is great in theory.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Feb 23 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

NIL should be common sense. But it isn’t, and that has Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney concerned.

The new approach that lets college athletes profit off of their name, image and likeness (NIL) has caused ripples across the college football landscape. Swinney likes the idea of the NIL legislation, but they lack the consequences needed to keep coaches and others in line.

“It's both good and bad. It's common sense to me. There is a critical article about Coach Swinney about every day because of what I believe. I have never, ever been against NIL. That is common sense,” Swinney said. “To me, for a kid to go home and do a camp and someone pay him money to do that, or for someone to pay him for doing something on his own time and with his own name, and take his time and go serve someone, whether it's an autograph signing or birthday party or whatever, it's always made no sense to me (to not allow it).

“I worked all through college. I umpired and I cut grass and I cleaned gutters. Any free moment I had. And that is what NIL is - it's your name, your image, and your likeness. And it's common sense. It's an opportunity to help these kids maximize a very short time in their life. Like I've said, 98 percent of these kids aren't going to the NFL. This is a great way to help them take advantage of the platform they have.”

Swinney said Clemson is in a good position when it comes to NIL.

“There are three football teams in America that have a million Twitter followers and Clemson is one of them. When you come to Clemson, instantly you are plugged into that brand. I mean right now,” Swinney said. “Our kids have the opportunity to make some short-term money while they have this short-term moment. Three or four or five years in the scope of your life is the blink of an eye. They all think they are going to the NFL and they're not. So to have a situation where they can make a little money is a good thing -- an awesome thing.

“The caveat or the key is, as adults and coaches, is to help them navigate the process. You know the purpose of our program. We have to help them be successful in that area. From tax education to financial literacy, because you are talking about 18-year olds. Yeah, I know everybody can get a job, but these kids have been playing ball, and not all of them are fully equipped.”

Clemson is currently in the process of building a facility to help with NIL.

“Like us, we are building a facility of its own and it will be ready September 1. We are calling it The CAB,” Swinney said. “The Clemson Athlete Branding Institute. And I call it The CAB because what does a cab do? It gives you a lift to your destination. But guess what? You have to pay the toll and you have to put the work in. It's not a free ride. As soon as you come to Clemson you are married to that. So how do we help you navigate that and take advantage of that? So all of that is good. There is a process and rules and laws and you have to be transparent and there are things you have to disclose and there are taxes. All of that is really good.

“What I am against is professionalizing college athletics. Everybody always takes that and they get that soundbite and they can't wait to go write some article hammering Coach Swinney. But I am against professionalizing college athletics. And that is why I am happy there are some other professional leagues coming, and if kids don't want a degree and the college process they can go do that. There will be some crashes in that area as well, but we are the only sport that doesn't have a minor league. But if you go to a college, you are committed to growing as a young person and committing to developing as a student and an athlete. And we are responsible to provide you with all of the resources during this time of your life.”

Swinney says NIL is being used in a way it wasn’t designed for.

“The bad part is - with everything good there are some unintended consequences that go along with it. It's the wild wild West,” he said. “There are no barriers and no uniformity. It's being used in a way it wasn't designed to be used for. I don't think that's good, because now you are going to have young people making decisions simply because of money. And I will be honest with you, we will be as good in NIL as anybody in the country. Nobody will be better than Clemson. But I hope no one ever comes to Clemson simply because of the NIL. I want them to come here because of the people, the program, this university, what they are going to be exposed to in our program, and all those things.

“And oh, by the way, I (the prospective athlete) can use the NIL as well. But right now, NIL plus transfer plus no consequences means no conscience. It's not a very healthy or sustainable situation in college athletics because there are no rules and no uniformity. It will settle out. There will be some kids with some bad stories and they will be 25-year olds and they will live this story and make decisions based on the wrong reasons and they are going to lose their focus. The focus will be short-term money over relationships and the long-term value of education, development, career networking and all those things. You will see kids at two or three or four schools and they won't be connected to anything.”