Since the start of the NIL era, Dabo Swinney has been steadfast in his stance against athletes as employees. The topic has come up multiple times the last few years, especially since the House settlement ushered in the rev-share era. But speaking with reporters Friday, Swinney said he’s starting to change his tune. He wonders […]
Since the start of the NIL era, Dabo Swinney has been steadfast in his stance against athletes as employees. The topic has come up multiple times the last few years, especially since the House settlement ushered in the rev-share era.
But speaking with reporters Friday, Swinney said he’s starting to change his tune. He wonders if employment would end up as the best way to preserve the current model.
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Swinney’s comments came as he walked reporters through the timeline of events around Luke Ferrelli’s signing with Clemson and subsequent departure for Ole Miss. He specifically called out Rebels coach Pete Golding for his role in contacting Ferrelli after he signed. But as he looked at the big picture, Swinney wondered if making athletes employees could solve problems, after all.
“I’ve always been against this idea of players as employees, but quite frankly, that might be the only way to protect the collegiate model,” Swinney said. “To have two sides have some type of agreement so that you can have some rules that can actually be enforced because everybody’s agreed upon them. I just want to throw that out there because again, I understand, you’ve got to have some help.”
The NCAA continues to face lawsuits surrounding rules in place, most recently with regard to eligibility. In football, former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia received eligibility for 2025 through a court ruling, and his case is ongoing. While Pavia said he does not plan to play college football in 2026, other plaintiffs in the case who played junior college football are still hoping for another season.
Eligibility is also dominating the conversation in college basketball. Charles Bediako received a temporary restraining order this week to become immediately able to return to Alabama for Saturday’s game against Tennessee ahead of a preliminary injunction hearing.
Dabo Swinney calls for collective bargaining
Amid the mounting lawsuits, collective bargaining has also come up as a potential solution, which is where employment comes into play. After laying out his plan to change the transfer portal process, while acknowledging the impact of revenue-sharing, Dabo Swinney said collective bargaining now needs to be front-and-center.
“Players should receive their scholarship and what I believe is an established minimum … which would allow them to live greatly while being a college student-athlete,” Swinney said. “I also feel like the players should still be allowed to negotiate their fair market value for rev-share and NIL. However, I believe any money above the minimum should go in some type of compounding annuity or financial products that would not be accessible until they either graduate or turn 25, whichever comes first. Again, this would incentivize graduation and this would mirror a very common practice with estate planning.
“Now, again, I know this is pie-in-the-sky and requires Congressional help and collective bargaining and all that stuff. But as adults, we all know that the graduate or the 25-year-old version of these players will be much more mature and prepared, and they will think differently than they did at ages 18 to 21. This is why car insurance is much cheaper for the 25-year-old than the 17-year-old.”
Category: General Sports
