Robert Griffin III found himself in another media feud on Saturday, trading posts on social media with Richard Sherman over where and how college athletes were compensated under the table in the pre-NIL days.
The back-and-forth started with RG3’s appearance on The Dan Patrick Show earlier in the week, in which he was asked about how he would have handled his college career had Name, Image, and Likeness rules allowed him to get paid to play.
Griffin said that he hoped Baylor would “open up the pocketbook” to keep him with the Bears regarding his personal career, adding that Mack Brown tried to recruit him to Texas on the field after a game his freshman year.
He went on to say that while he never got paid under the table, and even once was forced to pay for some free pizza he received, but that he knew “for a fact” that the SEC was paying the most under the table, and that there were two teams outside the SEC also unafraid to pay players out: Stanford and Florida State. Griffin said the sums amounted to “hundreds of thousands per player,” and in one case, were distributed via player bank accounts that were set up by the school and would “miraculously have $100,000” in them after a big win.
“When I hear a lot of people right now saying, ‘It’s the wild, wild west!’ and ‘These guys are getting paid.’ Guys, it was always the wild, wild west. It’s just now everyone can do it legally, and it’s eroded the depth of a lot of these teams.”
On Saturday, Sherman, who played for Stanford from 2006-2010, took issue with RG3’s comments.
“I usually don’t comment on what [Robert Griffin III] says but you aren’t just going to disparage Stanford with outright lies,” Sherman wrote. “Stanford has never paid any players under the table and had no need to. Not sure what your issue is but the clout chasing with made up stories need to end.”
I usually don’t comment on what @RGIII says but you aren’t just going to disparage Stanford with outright lies. Stanford has never paid any players under the table and had no need to. Not sure what your issue is but the clout chasing with made up stories need to end. https://t.co/SbfsR7e7EK
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) September 5, 2026
In response, Griffin posted an image from a 2016 USA Today story that reported on infractions admitted to by the Stanford football team.
“Stanford gave a player $3k for a bike loan, free car, meals, and a vacation home before NIL was legal,” he replied. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you need to stop clout chasing and spreading outright lies [Richard Sherman] I didn’t pick this fight, but I will finish it.”
In the story that Griffin cites, the violations listed are as follows:
Two boosters provided a football player with nearly $3,500 of extra benefits, including a loan to purchase a bicycle, free use of a vehicle, meals and the use of a vacation home, according to Stanford and the NCAA. The player lived with the booster as part of a short-term housing program, one that gave players a place to stay as they searched for housing in the summer months.
As you probably noticed, those violations are pretty far from the “hundreds of thousands” per player that Griffin alluded to in his interview with Patrick. Sherman called him out for moving the goal posts.
“You lied and have no substance or evidence to back up anything,” Sherman wrote in response. “You are a clout Chaser the end. Be an analyst and live in facts. You got caught lying so move on. Trying to act like that article makes your point is even more ridiculous. I will add the article for folks to read since you didn’t. You will finish out of sight and out of mind.”
To that, Griffin argued no, you’re the one who is actually changing the debate, adding an emoji to show that he was definitely Not Mad.
🤣 you so mad your chatgpt response was copy pasted twice.
It’s simple.
Your own response shows YOU were lying.
You said Stanford never paid anyone illegally.
Stanford themselves provided proof and evidence that they had.
NOW your defense is “Yea we did some illegal stuff…
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) September 5, 2026
In conclusion, it would appear that Stanford did violate pre-NIL compensation rules to some extent, but Griffin doesn’t have much beyond his own word to back up the “hundreds of thousands” claim.
Both Griffin and Sherman are set to be plenty busy with their football broadcasting duties as the NFL kicks off in less than a week and college football is already in full swing, so hopefully we can call this feud here and move on to better things.
About Tyler Lauletta
Tyler is a editorial contributor at Awful Announcing, with previous stops at Sports Illustrated and Business Insider during his career covering sports in digital media. He is, begrudgingly, a Truster of the Process and general Philly sports sicko.