Troy Aikman is ‘done’ funding NIL: ‘Didn’t even get a thank you’

If you’re a college player who happens to get NIL money from Troy Aikman, please make sure you send a thank you note.

Although, it sounds like aspiring UCLA Bruins and other college football players probably won’t have to worry about it, because according to Aikman, he’s done cutting checks to fund anyone through NIL.

Aikman joined the latest episode of Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, where they began talking about Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU. And after Aikman acknowledged he believes players should have the right to leave a school when a coach does, the Monday Night Football analyst aired his grievances with the transfer portal and NIL.

“There’s gotta be some leadership at the very top that kind of cleans all of this up,” Aikman told Deitsch. “Starting with players that accept money. There’s gotta be some accountability and responsibility on their behalf, to have to stick to a program.

“I gave money to a kid, I won’t mention who. I’ve done it one time at UCLA, never met the young man. He was there a year, he left after the year. I wrote a sizable check, and he went to another school. I didn’t even get so much as a thank you note. So, it’s one of those deals, to where I’m done with NIL. I want to see UCLA be successful, but I’m done with it.”

It’s easy to be pro-player empowerment as a fan. Players should be able to go from one school to another without sitting a season, just as coaches can and always have. And players should be able to profit off their name, image and likeness just as college football does and always has. But you can also understand Aikman being frustrated from his perspective as someone who was funding one of those players and got nothing out of it.

Thank you note aside, if you’re a player collecting money to go to one school and decide to bounce after one season for a different opportunity, it might dissuade the bankroller from cutting a check again. It did for Aikman.