On Jan. 2 the transfer portal opened in college football, and players from across the country flooded the pool to gauge interest from other schools. One situation that stands out so far surrounds University of Washington quarterback Demond Williams, Jr.   

Williams initially announced he resigned a name, image and likeness deal to remain the quarterback for the Huskies. In a new era where student athletes are making announcements like this, it is already bewildering in its own right. To see him still enter the portal days later, with rumors that LSU was making an effort to lure him to Baton Rouge.   

After UW threatened legal action, Williams announced – once again – that he will return to the Huskies program.  

I am all for NIL; players have a right to financially benefit from their brand the same way college programs across the nation always have. However, an issue we are starting to run into is players trying to leverage these programs to hand out more money for their services.   

The threat of not giving them what they want is another big-time school swooping in to snatch them up. Mainstream pundits pointed out Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers as the school potentially tampering with Williams, though no evidence has surfaced confirming this.   

Coaches across the nation have also made claims in past seasons that schools tamper all the time, even before the NIL era. Once again, rarely has evidence surfaced confirming this. However, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.   

Seeing players not honor the deals they sign is a concerning issue that I believe is only getting worse. Last year, former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA after the Volunteers refused to negotiate a new NIL deal. It appears that Williams found himself in a similar situation this year.   

The NCAA and college programs across the nation need to come together to solidify a constitution of sorts that includes language on NIL and transfer portal regulation. Players need to be limited on the number of times they can enter the portal; jumping in every year is chaotic and disrupts proper development if any of them have aspirations for the NFL.   

If we’re going to continue down this road of negotiating NIL deals, there needs to be repercussions in place for players or college programs that fail to honor the terms agreed to in the contract. When the consequences are significant enough, all parties will be more willing to abide by it. Eligibility should be a factor; if a player abandons a deal they just signed, maybe losing a year of eligibility should be considered.   

If a coach or representative from another program is caught tampering and not recruiting through the proper channels, perhaps bowl eligibility or consideration for the playoff is revoked.   

For as much dialogue that goes on in college football about how NIL has made certain traditions not matter anymore, there’s not much being done to make this modern era matter.   

    MIKE MAYNARD