Senator Tommy Tuberville is in the news proposing a new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) bill for college athletes. 

On his official X (formerly Twitter) account, he posted a video and captioned it, “My NIL bill is simple.”

“You get five consecutive years to play five seasons with one free transfer. If you choose to transfer again, you sit out one year. 

“Proud to be leading the charge to SAVE COLLEGE SPORTS.” 

Senator Tommy Tuberville is a retired college football coach. Famously coached Ole Miss and Auburn. 

The current rules of the NCAA on transfers and eligibility are that a student athlete can transfer multiple times and will not have to sit out, as long as the student is academically eligible and follows the portal timing rules. 

The same five-year clock applies at the NCAA as well, with four seasons of play in a five-year window; usually, true freshman athletes redshirt their first year and go on to play the remaining four. 

The senator also said in the video, “So student athletes, to me, should have a five-year window. You start; you’ve got five years. I’m sick of these 28-29-year-olds playing in a young person’s sport and taking your money.” 

Having been a part of college football for 35 years, the senator from Alabama now wants to see change and cover all the loopholes present in the existing system for college athletes.

How Are Fans Reacting to the News?

One fan brutally asks of the senator, saying, “So did you do that when you left Ole Miss for Auburn after saying you were only leaving in a pine box?” referring to the time Senator Tuberville left Ole Miss for Auburn and said he would only leave Ole Miss in a coffin. 

One fan blames the NCAA directly, asking and saying, “Why does a US senator need to get involved? Why is that the NCAA so jacked up that they can’t fix a problem they created?" Referring to the policy of the NCAA when it comes to eligibility and transfers. 

Another fan is not mincing his words at all, “So head coaches can come and go as they please, but you want to restrict athletes. Shove this bill up your a--.” This fan makes their frustrations quite clear in support of student athletes getting the best for themselves. 

One fan is in support of the senator and says, “Thank you! Not sure how you can be a student athlete transferring four times. Madness.” 

Read more at the Michigan Football Community

Written by

Samvruth Raj

Edited by

Shraabona Sengupta