Lane Kiffin is proud of the roster he and his staff at Ole Miss assembled in hopes of breaking through to the College Football Playoff for the first time this fall. The revenue-sharing era of college athletics began on July 1 in accordance with the House settlement, which permits schools to pay athletes directly with an annual cap set at $20.5 million. The introduction of a budget in turn limited their roster-building approach, said Kiffin, who compared the current situation to the early days of NIL when programs had different payrolls and advantages.
Lane Kiffin Calls Revenue-Sharing Enforcement Into Question originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
ATLANTA — Lane Kiffin is proud of the roster he and his staff at Ole Miss assembled in hopes of breaking through to the College Football Playoff for the first time this fall. He’s just not so sure everyone else is playing by the rules.
The revenue-sharing era of college athletics began on July 1 in accordance with the House settlement, which permits schools to pay athletes directly with an annual cap set at $20.5 million. It didn’t take long for allegations of foul play to start flying at SEC Media Days.
“I think it's obvious people aren't staying within that cap,” Kiffin said.
The Rebels have been operating under the guise that the settlement would be approved since the winter transfer portal window. The introduction of a budget in turn limited their roster-building approach, said Kiffin, who compared the current situation to the early days of NIL when programs had different payrolls and advantages.
“That was supposed to be fixed, and now it's not,” Kiffin said. “Again, we've tried to follow the guidelines because that's what we were told we needed to do. I'm not saying they're wrong for doing it; I'm not calling anybody out. If the system isn't solid enough to prevent that, then we really don't have a system. So you're not operating on a salary cap.”
It’s not clear which programs Kiffin is referencing that are supposedly flouting the sport’s newfound guardrails.
There were reports last fall that Ohio State spent $20 million in NIL to put together its national championship-winning roster, though that was before revenue sharing came about. NIL is meant to be separate from the newfound revenue-sharing system.
The recently formed College Sports Commission introduced NIL Go, a third-party clearinghouse run by Deloitte, to vet NIL deals worth $600 or more. Indeed, some athlete deals have already reportedly been rejected.
Kiffin said he is hopeful Ole Miss will be rewarded for adhering to the revenue-sharing cap and is curious when and how enforcement will take place.
“What does it look like when you don't and what are the punishments for that?” Kiffin said. “Do you win and that comes later? So that remains to be seen.”
Revenue sharing is still in its infancy and even NIL is just now four years old. But Kiffin evidently feels strongly that already some programs are going “way above the cap.”
Asked if college football should and can have a hard salary cap, Kiffin said bluntly: “I think that's what we attempted. Doesn't seem like that's working very well.”
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
