Lane Kiffin is adopting NFL-style discipline for collegiate athletes. He revealed his stance on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and transfer portals, which are closely associated with him.

“With NIL and the portal, there’s a lot of problems that have been created,” Kiffin said on Pardon My Take. “I don’t think it’s as challenging to get guys to do things because we’re paying you. If you don’t want to do it, there’s a fine system, just like the NFL. I find it’s actually easier.”

Kiffin, the head coach of LSU, has joined the conversation that Deion Sanders most recently was a part of. 

Sanders, in an episode of All the Smoke podcast, revealed that he hurried to sign his deal as the NIL “stuff is crazy right now.” The former NFL player, who is now entering his fourth season with the Colorado Buffaloes, has long remained at odds with NIL.

“There should be some kind of cap. Our game should emulate the NFL game in every aspect. Rules. Regulations. Whatever the NFL rules, the college rules should be the same,” Sanders said in a 2025 USA Today interview.

Sanders finds the NIL chaotic, unlike Kiffin, who has found a silver lining in the form of better discipline. However, the take on the transfer portal from Kiffin, the “Portal King” himself, is surprising.

Kiffin bestowed this title upon himself after he landed former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart and tight end Michael Trigg for Ole Miss over the weekend in 2022. Thanks to him, the program then also gained former Georgia Tech pass-rusher Jared Ivey through the transfer portal. 

Much has happened since then and Kiffin, 51, who unceremoniously left Ole Miss, is implementing new rules in his coaching style, a result of changing player culture. 

College Coaches Have Implemented A Fine System For Better Regulation

Lane Kiffin recently addressed the concerns over NIL and transfer portals taking root among players on the collegiate level. 

“They kind of, in their mind, think they’re like pros now – which is good,” he revealed on the Pardon My Take podcast. “So you’ve got high expectations. ‘Hey, this is what you need to do.’ And if you don’t, there’s a fine system for those things, but also, what’s going to happen at the end of the year? You’re going to get cut.”

According to a May 21 article by Nick Schultz, Kiffin is not the first coach to have implemented a fine system mirroring the NFL. Kirby Smart implemented a collective fine system at Georgia for players’ off-field speeding issues during the 2024 campaign. 

“The [NIL] collective has fined players -- substantially,” Smart said per ESPN. “I actually think the best key is the pocket because you look at what the NFL has done, their model is defined.”

A January 2026 video from Well Off Media showed Colorado Buffs coach Deion Sanders fining players for things like missing practices. The fines are not tied to NIL agreements or on-field performance, the program told ESPN.

Kiffin is in his first season with LSU, and we will soon see whether his stance on NIL translates into discipline on the field. 

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar