As the transfer portal and NIL continue to change the landscape of college sports, smaller schools have found it increasingly difficult to hold onto some of their top talent.
Schools with more NIL funding are blessed with the ability to offer more lucrative deals to college athletes, giving them the chance to lure those students from smaller programs.
Grambling State football coach Mickey Joseph floated his idea on how to better even the playing field for schools that aren't in the group of five or power four conferences. Speaking on Thursday, Joseph suggested that schools should receive a buyout when a player leaves for a bigger program.
"If they're sophomores and they have a big year, and a group of five or a power five approaches them, and they have the finances to pull them out of there and I can't match the finances, then you know what? They're gonna go. That's part of it. Coaches have been doing it for years, so we shouldn't get mad as coaches when these kids make decisions to take care of their family," said Joseph.
"But I also think there needs to be a buyout. If they move up from me and go to a group of five and power five, I should get some kind of compensation for that. So, NCAA, if you're listening to me, I need a buyout," he said.
Grambling State head coach Mickey Joseph says there should be buyouts when players transfer up to bigger programs:
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 3, 2025
"There needs to be a buyout. If they move up from me and go G5 or P4, I should get compensation for that."pic.twitter.com/UrAWGDNza1
It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request. A school such as Grambling State likely can't compete with the financial backing that some P4 schools are able to offer these student athletes, but that doesn't mean they should be content with losing their best players just because top programs are able to pay them more.
A buyout or some kind of financial compensation to the school would be a great way to offset the loss of that player, enabling smaller programs to be more competitive in the transfer portal and not leaving them grasping for straws when a player does depart.
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as FCS Coach Has Unique Financial Solution for Programs Losing Players to Bigger Schools.
