In a candid conversation about the shifting landscape of college football, one HBCU coach didn’t mince words about the impact of NIL deals.
“The game has changed so much since NIL came apart,” said Grambling State coach Mickey Joseph at SWAC Media Day on Wednesday. “Now, it’s money. It’s bank accounts. That’s what’s running college football right now.”
With top recruits being lured by sizable monthly payouts, programs with limited financial resources are finding it hard to keep pace.
“It looks like whoever has the most money — that’s who’s going to win,” Joseph admitted. “We lost eight to nine kids in the portal, not because they wanted to leave, but because of money. When you offer a kid $8,600 or $10,000 a month, it’s hard to say no.”
While other college football coaches have lamented about NIL and the inequity it has created, Joseph said he remains focused on preparing to win games in the SWAC.
“I worry about nobody else but the SWAC,” he said. “You’ve got to figure out, financially, are you going to be able to compete with the other schools in the conference?”
But the fight isn’t just about this season — it’s about retaining talent and building loyalty.
“We develop them, and they [FBS schools] have enough money to take them,” said Joseph, who is in his second year at Grambling. “It’s no different than a coach at an FCS school getting hired away by an FBS program. That’s why I’ve said we need buyouts, so maybe kids will know what commitment is.”
For now, Grambling remains proud of its national reputation. “At the end of the day, we are a national brand. But we have to understand that we’re still Grambling. We have to find a way to compete — on and off the field.”
Whether the financial arms race in college football will slow down, the coach can’t say. “We’ll see if the game changes. But right now, money talks.”
