Jimbo Fisher says NIL has made cheating ‘worse’

Oct 16, 2021; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher reacts during the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Although he’s taking a year away from college football after being fired by Texas A&M last November, Jimbo Fisher still keeps close tabs on things.

Despite his love for the game, Fisher sees major flaws that continue to plague the sport; issues he believes must be rectified in order to prevent tampering and widespread cheating.

“We need revenue sharing. We need a salary cap, for all schools, and if you’re caught — and the other part of this, the tampering that other schools do with players, is utterly ridiculous,” Fisher said during interview with College Sports on SiriusXM, via On3.

“I mean, the big schools are going and getting players constantly from other schools, and it’s being done illegally. Those guys are developing players, and all of a sudden their guys, you know, that team shouldn’t have an advantage, financially, to be able to take care of a guy that another school doesn’t, and it’s wrong.”

During his time at College Station, Fisher took complete advantage of NIL to the point of controversy. He also drew the ire of then-Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who accused Texas A&M “bought every player on their team.”

But now, while taking in the view from the couch, Fisher claims that NIL has damaged the game of college football more than it has helped.

“I’ve had multiple discussions with players I’ve had, teams calling them and offering money. ‘I’ve got NIL, I’ve got this offer here, I’ve got this,’ and you’ve got to sit down with them, their parents and go through it all. Power 4, within our own league, with the things that go on,” Fisher added. “I thought, really, when NIL came in, we thought it would be good, because some of this — there were teams that were doing NIL before NIL was popular, okay? . . . I thought NIL would at least make it fair, take the cheating out of ball. It’s made it worse.”

If and when Fisher returns to the sidelines, it will be interesting to see if he falls back into old NIL habits or if he stays true to his current criticism and encourages the sport to evolve.