Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State wide receiver, has become the talk of the country right now. And he deserves it, too. This is the true freshman boy who was at the forefront of OSU’s 2024 season’s exploits. He not only finished with 1,315 receiving yards but also scored 15 touchdowns. It is widely touted that he will be one of the favorites for the 2025 Heisman Trophy. But, with great potential in this NIL era comes suitors who will not leave any stone unturned to poach their rival’s talents. Something like that had been brewing for some time now for Jeremiah Smith.

Smith, who will be at the forefront of OSU’s 2025 receiving responsibilities, joined the program with NIL deals that would see him earning close to $3 million in the 2025 season. While Smith’s loyalty to the OSU program was never doubted. Still, money itself is a great motivator, and that seems to be the case with Smith, too. At least, that’s what is expected to happen, right?

Adam Breneman, a college football analyst at CBS Sports, provided an insight on Smith’s future and the potential problems with the whole process. He said, “Jeremiah Smith was offered 4.5 million dollars to leave Ohio State; that’s an insane number. But the problem here is that Jeremiah Smith wasn’t even in the transfer portal; tampering in college football with NIL money is the wild wild west right now. You hear it every single day, and I hear it basically from every coach I talk to.“

Yes, you heard it right. Jeremiah Smith has received an offer from a prominent team of about $4.5 million. And the strange part is that all this is being done through backdoor channels without Smith being listed on the portal. Wait, there’s more.

Breneman also speculated on the negative implications on the whole NIL world in general and loopholes in the whole system. “Florida head coach Billy Napier has said, ‘This is a cutthroat business.’ Even Kirby Smart has said it’s disturbing and upsetting. Illegal? Not necessarily. Unethical? Perhaps.” Breneman is pointing out is almost a dark side of the NIL world. While NIL has undoubtedly provided more incentives for college football to bloom. However, it has also paved the way for backdoor negotiations, players leaving when things don’t go as planned, and, most crucially, widespread tampering. 

Undoubtedly, Jeremiah Smith has provided clarity about his future plans. Responding to a user who wrote regarding Smith’s move away from Ohio State, “Ain’t gonna happen, that family is too loyal, good try tho”. And, normally we wouldn’t see Jeremiah responding to it, but he chose to make a statement this time and replied with a “100” emoji. That essentially implied that Smith had no desire to leave Columbus anytime soon. And, after the boy cleared the air regarding his future, Ryan Day also came out with a statement hitting out at the NCAA.

How will teams cope with this NIL era?

For context, the NCAA by-rules explicitly forbid any team from persuading players through backdoor channels other than the transfer portal. That was the primary reason the portal even came into existence. Ryan Day hit out at the NCAA with a brutal statement, “I think one of the big issues we have across the board in college football right now is enforcement…You have to value them (players), do everything you can to get what they deserve and what’s fair… As coaches we’re all looking for more guidelines on this, everything is so gray right now”. 

Day also said that until strict enforcement is in place, people can directly call any player’s agent or parents. That would generally mean financial incentives for parents, agents, and the player as well. And who wouldn’t like a bit more green on their plate? But is there a solution to all these problems? Well, there is.

Breneman provided some suggestions as to how the NCAA can actually turn the NIL in favor of the teams and players. The first suggestion he gave was to not allow players to actually play till they complete 1 year after being transferred. “The one thing that needs to happen right now is I think you bring back the sit-out-one-year-when-you-transfer rule. Listen, make immediate transfers less attractive by having them sit out the first year of their transfer; don’t use their year against their eligibility but make them sit out. That way, you can still fix your career if you picked the wrong school, but you also have some sense of responsibility that you can’t just pick up and leave when things don’t go well.“ 

The second suggestion he pointed out was to adopt policies that are in place in the NFL. For instance, the strict no-tampering policy in place in the NFL dissuades teams from tampering with players’ contracts. Also, the policy will have an added hefty penalty attached to it in the form of significant fines and even suspensions. The two suggestions surely prove that the NCAA still can do a lot more in regulating the NIL space and transfer portal. That would essentially mean teams like Ohio State keeping on their talented prospects like Jeremiah Smith.