5,000+ Players in the Portal: Chaos or the Market Working?

Football 360 Show Notes 🎙️ Intro + Welcome (0:00–1:34)

• Show open: "Welcome to the Football 360 Show — the fastest 48 minutes football talk on the planet."

• Hosts introduced: JP Rock + Matt Beerman.

• Back after a couple weeks off — holiday season schedule + time away.

• JP talks about how he "gets lost in the holidays" and has a hard time returning to normal.

• JP's holiday chaos: flu + COVID + bacterial/viral infection and a new baby.

  • New addition: CROI, 8 lbs 9 oz — "that's a football name."

• Matt's holiday recap: time off for Christmas + New Year's, no travel this year (no Utah).

• Quick shoutout: Merry Christmas / Happy New Year to listeners.

🏈 Big Picture: College Football = Pro Football Now

• Tons of football happened; "interesting times" — Mizzou, transfer portal, and the bigger ecosystem.

• Transfer portal reality: ~4,000 players in the portal.

  • Many may never play again.

  • Many are entering because they're being nudged out of programs.

• Concern raised: Are we setting athletes up for academic success with multiple transfers?

  • Transferring once was hard enough — now it's common to transfer 3–4 times.

🏛️ Congress / NCAA / "Let It Burn" Theory

• JP + Matt discuss how Congress and the Senate are now engaged in "fixing" college football.

• A conspiracy-ish idea discussed:

  • NCAA may be letting chaos grow because they're tired of losing court cases

  • hoping Congress steps in and grants antitrust protection.

• Matt's concern:

  • If NCAA gets antitrust protection, it could be bad for athletes

  • NCAA would regain leverage and return to controlling decisions in harmful ways.

• Key reminder: don't ignore how we got here — athletes used to be trapped by transfer restrictions.

⛓️ "Dark Days" of Transfers + Power Imbalance

• Example referenced: players previously denied transfers and forced to sit even if dropping levels.

• Mentions "blacklisting" and the old system where schools had full control.

• Tommy Tuberville mentioned as a Senator involved in the discussion.

• Core thesis:

  • It's always been professional football

  • but only for TV networks, universities, and coaches.

  • Now athletes have "skin in the game," and people want to "pump the brakes."

💰 Revenue Share + Who Wants the Money

• The schools are angry because now they must pay athletes:

  • ~$20–22M/year (revenue share baseline discussed)

  • which creates shortfalls, job losses, belt tightening.

• Schools don't want collectives controlling NIL money — they want universities/NCAA to control it.

• Discussion of NIL clearinghouse concept (anything over ~$600 being reviewed):

  • "third party intermediary" but funded/controlled by NCAA.

• Major point: "Fair market value" is set by two parties agreeing — not a third party.

  • Predicts this becomes the next major lawsuit.

👷 Athlete "Employee" Argument

• Matt argues the "athletes aren't employees" stance is weak:

  • athletes are told when to show up, what to wear, schedules, responsibilities — that's employment structure.

• Trading "education" for labor wouldn't fly elsewhere.

• The current chaos is framed as the market sorting itself out:

  • previously it should've been like this, but athletes had no agency.

🧨 Competitive Shake-Up + Super League Direction

• Schools that used to pay under the table don't like that everyone can pay openly now.

• "That's how you get Indiana rising" (example used to show new parity possibilities).

• Matt + JP repeat the idea:

  • we're heading toward a super league reality.

  • If programs can't keep up financially, it'll show on the field.

• "Base layer" is revenue share; NIL becomes the differentiator beyond that.

📉 NIL "Go" + Contract Front-Loading + Future Pay Cuts

• Matt notes many deals were front-loaded before NIL enforcement tightened.

• Players may be living on "last year's contract reality" — and next year money could tighten.

• Reiterates: denying NIL deals as "not fair market value" invites antitrust/commerce lawsuits.

• Emphasis: NCAA wants control back; toothpaste isn't going back in the tube.

🚨 Tampering + "Do Not Contact" Portal Entries

• Predicts lawsuits around tampering.

• Portal entries with "do not contact" strongly imply backchannel communication already happened.

• Example: Mizzou player referenced (Bo Pribula mentioned) — didn't play bowl, then gone.

• Matt describes the new ecosystem:

  • agents, reps, handlers — "a whole industry now."

📞 Real-World Example: Coaches Calling About Portal Players

• Matt shares a story: one of their coaches got a call from a college coach asking about a portal kid.

• Their stance:

  • "We don't represent them."

  • "We train and develop athletes."

  • Goal is athlete success, not making money off transfers or NIL.

• Advice for families:

  • If you're a high-profile starter with real market value, an agent may help.

  • But it should be someone legit (e.g., lawyer/true negotiator), not a "wannabe."

📺 Where to Watch / Follow the Show

• Platforms mentioned:

  • YouTube + X

  • Football360Show.com

  • Saturday mornings 11 AM on KLS 590 AM (St. Louis) + "lootinfo.com" referenced

🏟️ Portal Talk: Local Names + Coaching Threads

• Portal remains the focus: 4,000 players, including local names.

• Jacobi Oliphant: Oklahoma State → Kansas State

  • now ~6'4"/6'5", 230

  • connection thread: familiar coach relationships

• Portal recruiting compared to the NFL:

  • players follow coaches, coaches bring known fits into systems.

• Example: Iowa State roster attrition referenced (down to very low numbers at one point).

  • Washington State pipeline example mentioned; a cycle of roster stripping/refilling.

• Timing debate:

  • some say portal should be spring

  • coaches want January entries to get them through spring ball and install.

• Notes on "re-signing announcements":

  • signals stability to fans

  • also reflects that staying is now a two-way agreement

  • many kids are "encouraged" into portal without being officially cut.

• Austin Romain: Kansas State → Texas Tech

  • former Elite Football Combine MVP

  • described as 6'6", 235, 4.6 forty, 35" vertical (as discussed)

• Closing theme of the segment: don't let NCAA off the hook — they helped create the chaotic system; coaches and athletes are now living inside it. 5,000 in the Portal: Chaos or the Market Working?