While Clemson will officially focus its attention on the field Monday when the Tigers open the season against Georgia Tech, one popular off-field topic continued to be a subject of conversation during Dabo Swinney’s press conference Thursday.
In response to a question about how name, image and likeness opportunities have benefited student-athletes at Clemson since the NCAA made such opportunities legal a year ago, the Tigers’ head coach praised the measures that have been put in place at the university to help athletes maximize their chances to make extra money, including an on-campus, NIL-dedicated space, the recent hire of NIL coordinator C.D. Davies and the formation of two Clemson-area NIL collectives since the spring.
“It’s been great for us. It’s been awesome,” Swinney said. “And it’s been great for our guys to be able to have opportunities. We’ve got a couple of great collectives out there that I think align with who we are as a program and being focused-driven. It’s great to see our guys serve the community, it’s great to see our guys giving back, and it’s great to see them have an opportunity to make some money.”
The conversation then shifted to one of the unintended consequences of NIL opportunities. According to Sports Illustrated, commissioners of the Power Five conferences, including ACC boss Jim Phillips, recently penned a letter to Congress asking for help in abolishing payments by boosters to prospective athletes that are being inaccurately labeled as NIL, something Swinney has long been against and that the NCAA recently made illegal.
Swinney took the time to address the topic again when it was brought up later during his press conference.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Swinney said in reference to boosters using NIL as recruiting inducements. “And the people in the business, we saw that coming a mile away. Again, the intentions (with NIL) are good, and I think the intentions and what need to happen outweigh the negative consequences that could come from it. But, yeah, it’s got to be addressed.
“It’s not intended as a recruiting inducement. It’s not. And then you throw in the bigger issue of tampering with the transfer portal. That’s the No. 1 issue because there’s no barrier. So you’ve got a lot of pressure on a lot of people to win today, to win right now, and there’s quick fixes. So there’s not many people going into the portal without a plan, so how did they get a plan?”
While Swinney said he believes the additions and subtractions to Clemson’s roster over the last year have had little to do with the impact of NIL, he reiterated he’s not against players being able to properly profit from such opportunities.
“It’s a great opportunity, and we’ve got great resources,” he said.
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