Name Image Likeness (also known as NIL), the transfer portal and the recruiting cycle are the current state of college football that could alter the sport for the worse permanently.
These changes have made the sports arguably seem more like a professional one more than ever before.
These changes are explored more in detail in this article:
NIL – Name Image Likeness came about a few years ago, and is the allows for student athletes to make money off of their personal brand.
The argument from traditional college football fans is that these athletes are mostly on full scholarship, and that the value of that is enough alone. And because of it, players should not have to be compensated any more than that.
When the NCAA made NIL allowable in 2021, the appeal of a level of amateurism that existed in college sports suddenly disappeared.
What NIL has also done is make it very hard for smaller schools with less of a budget to compete. The larger schools with more boosters and fan support such as Alabama, Georgia and LSU as far as the SEC goes have even more of a chance to separate themselves now compared to the likes of South Carolina and Kentucky for example.
Recruiting use to be based on talent alone. And once a player was brought on campus, it was all about development under that coach and program.
NIL has changed the came on that as the power is in the hands of the player. Where they do often times depends on how large of an NIL deal they can get. And inevitably, that is going to come from larger schools more often than not, further creating a separation. And there is nothing schools like Kentucky and South Carolina can do about it.