Due to the NCAA Transfer Portal, Texas A&M will be playing an undermanned USC football team in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley was asked by the media on Thursday about if he felt a lot of those recent decisions had been influenced by NIL money.
“Yeah, they have on both sides. Every school, you have a budget, this is what we got to spend and you’ve gotta decide. It’s tough because we’re not completely professional,” Riley explained. “When a lot of these guys were signed, it wasn’t in a professional manner. It was sitting in their living rooms, relationships, program, academics, the development, all those things. Now, all of a sudden, it’s shifted midstream.
“That’s what’s made it tough on everybody involved right now. Players, coaches, schools, everybody, because a lot of these guys were brought in under a different system. Now that’s changed. Now there’s a financial component to every decision that we make and every decision that a player makes.”
The Aggies (8-4) will play USC (6-6) at Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 27 at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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Asked USC’s Lincoln Riley if he felt a lot of recent decisions by players to transfer been influenced by money.
“Yeah” (adamantly). “I mean they have — on both sides … every school, like, you have a budget. And this is what we got to spend.”
A lot in his response here: pic.twitter.com/VZD3teRilk
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) December 19, 2024