ATHENS — Kirby Smart was not asked specifically about Name, Image and Likeness on Wednesday.
That Smart elected to take a question about NFL draft success and speak on NIL makes it clear how frustrated he is about the subject.
“It’s a great sell for the kids that’ll listen. There’s a lot of them that want to ask about NIL,” Smart said. “They don’t want to ask about what your NFL players have done. I think it’s much more important how you develop players than how much NIL you make.”
Smart is far from the only coach to share this view on the matter. Nick Saban was on Capital Hill speaking about NIL and how it has warped the sport of college football.
Their viewpoints are understandable. It has to be so frustrating to have a plan mapped out for a player’s development, only to be met with questions from players who haven’t spent a day at a college campus asking how much money they’ll make.
But you can also understand why players feel the way they do on the matter.
Quarterback Carson Beck downplayed the fascination with his new Lamborghini. While the general public might be pocket-watching Georgia’s quarterback, he just sees it as a car.
“It’s not a big deal at all in my opinion. I like cars,” Beck said. “I got a car. That’s really all it is. Obviously, a lot of people are going to look at it and say what a terrible decision, what a terrible choice with his money. But it’s just a car at the end of the day. It’s not too big of a deal. I just drive it around.”
When you play at a program like Georgia and play as well as Beck did a season ago, it’s easy to understand why NIL money would come pouring in.
Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams, a player with a similarly noteworthy profile, wasn’t put off by Beck’s new automobile. There’s no jealousy.
In fact, he’s thrilled for Beck.
“Yeah, we were happy for him. He deserves it. He works for everything he gets,” Williams said. “They’re saying he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the country, we feel like. He works for everything he gets.”
Beck and Williams have both proven themselves at the college level. What Smart is speaking to goes back largely to the high school recruiting ranks.
Smart and Saban have always thrived at recruiting from the high school level. Since Smart became the head coach at Georgia, only once has Georgia or Alabama not signed the No. 1 ranked recruiting class.
In the past, coaches have been able to sell NFL draft success to help keep recruiting elite players. Consider that Smart has produced 15 first-round picks in his time at Georgia and lost just 16 games. Saban had more first-round picks, 44, than losses in his time at Alabama, 29.
Of course the success of players like Ladd McConkey and Javon Bullard, two players who decidedly weren’t 5-star prospects, shows that Smart isn’t simply just developing 5-star prospects all the time.
“We bet on him to be a good player, and he did. He was very productive,” Smart said of McConkey. “We’re fortunate to have kids like that in our state that get overlooked and work really hard. Luckily we have enough staff people here that we were able to find him.”
NIL has made Smart’s job more difficult. He has long stressed that talent acquisition is the most important part of his job. Good players beat good coaching.
But Smart’s displeasure with the current system will likely continue to go unheard by the powers that can possibly make any changes. Congress and the NCAA seem disinterested. All Smart seems to be able to do is voice his frustrations and play within the current structure.
For players though, NIL has made their lives more enjoyable. It allows a player like Beck to be rewarded for his play and profile.
“Have always been a huge car guy so growing into that and being able to associate myself with that brand, it’s such a large brand name, being able to get that car, it’s a blessing,” Beck said. “It’s been awesome.”
Perhaps a recruit will see the success that Beck has had and know it didn’t come immediately. That he had to wait three full seasons to start. How he had to develop into one of the best quarterbacks in the country before the riches came.
Amarius Mims, a player on the verge of making millions at the NFL, offered a measured response on the matter. Blending the player’s perspective while also noting how much the sport has begun to change because of
“Teams are becoming stacked. NIL is very powerful. Salute to those guys to whoever making their money, don’t get me wrong,” Mims said. “It’s definitely becoming powerful enough to build kinda like a super team. To the guys who use it well, good luck to them.
“All I’ll say is. You’ve got to be ready come Saturday to play. That NIL money ain’t going to be there forever. The big bucks come at the next level.”
