The transfer portal, especially as it pertains to college football, is commonly viewed as college free agency.
The problem with that analogy is the NFL or any other professional league has rules and guidelines that prevent more players than openings.
Much of that is taken care of with the collective bargaining agreement and binding contracts. NFL free agency is also not an every year option.
The transfer portal has very little when it comes to regulation and protections. If a player wants to enter the portal, they're free to do so. The other side of that equation is that player needs a dance partner.
All too often players enter and don’t get picked up. In many cases, it's a career-ending move.
Currently according to On3, there are still 3,204 players currently in the transfer portal who are not committed to a new school. That number was almost 100 less at the beginning of the day.
At present, just within DI college football, there are only 1,821 players who are committed to new programs. That means only 36% of players who have entered the portal have found a new team to play for.
On Thursday, college football analyst Josh Pate appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and shed some light on some of the issues with the transfer portal.
Pate claims there are over 10,000 players were in the transfer portal when every level of college football is considered. Eisen asked what happens to those players who don’t sign with a new team? Can they simply go back to their previous teams and apologize for leaving.
“You can attempt it” Pate said. “In a lot of cases, it’s just over. I’ve watched this happen after every cycle. Guys just disappear. They have no idea that when they enter the portal, just ended their college football career until the door closes in their face and they have no where to land, and it's just over."
A month earlier, Eisen had Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the SEC, as a guest, who also chimed in on the issues with the portal.
“This isn’t a 'me' problem, this is a 'we' problem. Where people that are part of the problem, need to also be part of the solution” Sankey said.
Multiple head coaches and interested parties have already made the claim that college football should start moving towards emulating the NFL in several areas. One to consider is creating a college football advisory board like the NFL has. The NFL Advisory Board (or the NFLDAB) is a group that advises possible NFL Draft prospects of how they are viewed by scouts and NFL personnel.
In many cases, the draft projection provided by the advisory board convinces players to stay in school. A similar result could be created with the transfer portal, except it would advise players not to jump in the portal if the outcome they want is not likely.
If there was an advisory aspect, chances are very good the portal would not see 10,000 players if at least some of them are told it is unlikely they’ll be signed after they choose to enter.
College football players are not kids but creating some sort of process that diminishes the number of players entering the portal would be advantageous for everyone.
While the urgency for fixes may not be at an alarming level, changes need to be considered. Whether its the recruiting schedule, how playoff seeding works or guardrails for the transfer portal, changes need to be considered. Too many collegiate athletes are about to find themselves out in the cold under the current model.
More college football news:
- Dan Lanning rips College Football Playoff, calls for major changes
- Demond Williams bombshell could have resulted in Lane Kiffin being fired by LSU
- Deion Sanders buyout, contract details as Colorado Buffaloes coach
- Top 2026 NFL Draft prospect suffers broken rib in CFP quarterfinal loss
- Ohio State's Ryan Day faces backlash after Cotton Bowl