Want to fix the college sports mess? We must reform NIL and the transfer portal

Re: “Fix NIL and transfer portal systems or they will destroy college sports,” by Cliff Ellis, March 31.

In a general sense I agree these two issues are damaging college sports.

I sent a letter to the NCAA a few weeks ago to offer a solution to the transfer portal. It was as follows:  “The school receiving the Transfer athlete has to give up one or two scholarships for that specific sport.”

So, if you receive five new transfer football players, your school loses five to10 football scholarships! That would slow down the movement of players jumping all over the place. Not sure if it should be one or two scholarships per transfer, but this type of program would help.

Another view: Women's Final Four paved the way for Nashville's top sports events. Time to bring it back

The NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) is a whole different animal. It's like a tiger has been released from his cage – and how to get him back in the cage is daunting. Maybe limit NIL to a dollar amount per year – some type of monetary limitation must be enforced.

Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht (3) scores on the transition in the second half of the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight college basketball game against Purdue at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI on Sunday, March 31, 2024.
Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht (3) scores on the transition in the second half of the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight college basketball game against Purdue at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI on Sunday, March 31, 2024.

What we have now is a professional minor league of sorts. College teams are now professional athletics.

Paul Knowles, Nashville 37211

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: College sports: Fix the mess by reforming NIL and transfer portal