Lincoln Riley Gets Called Out After Breaking Silence on NIL Era
Lincoln Riley celebrated college football‘s new financial reality on FS1’s “The Herd” on Monday, framing NIL as the great equalizer that finally broke one region’s stranglehold on talent. The USC head coach talked about parity and opportunity as if the sport had just discovered fairness. Graham Coffey heard something else entirely. The analyst torched Riley and coaches like him on Wednesday on X, calling out what he sees as revisionist history mixed with active hypocrisy.
Riley’s comments focused on how money was spread across the sport rather than concentrated in the South. “Now there’s not just one part of the country paying players,” he told Colin Cowherd. “Everybody’s able to do it and it’s a great thing because I think it’s been able to create a more level playing field.” He didn’t name the SEC, but the target was obvious. The Big Ten has won three straight national titles, while the SEC hasn’t reached a championship game in that span.
“There is a trend now where coaches are vilifying the SEC to excuse or dismiss the past,” Coffey wrote. “In many cases they are saying this while actively bending/breaking rules by promising $$$ way over the rev share cap and way over market value and telling prospects they’ll figure out a way around the cap later.”
Can we be honest for a second?
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) February 5, 2026
There is a trend now where coaches are vilifying the SEC to excuse or dismiss the past. In many cases they are saying this while actively bending/breaking rules by promising $$$ way over the rev share cap and way over market value and telling… https://t.co/K6FO0VHO8Y
Texas Tech spent nearly $30 million on NIL deals this past season, according to CBS Sports, and won 12 games, including a Big 12 title. Ohio State dropped $20 million when they won it all in 2024, per Front Office Sports. Riley’s point about new opportunities had concrete examples. Indiana won a national championship with billionaire Mark Cuban backing them. That didn’t happen in the old system, where Alabama’s third string was loaded with five-stars.
Coffey’s accusation wasn’t just about Riley. It was about coaches across the sport painting themselves as reformers while allegedly breaking the same rules they criticize.
The Lincoln Riley SEC Criticism Comes With Convenient Timing
Coffey didn’t hold back in his post. He separated coaches vilifying the SEC into two camps, and neither looked good in his telling. Some coaches are rewriting what happened before, according to Coffey. Others are committing the exact violations they accuse the SEC of while claiming moral high ground.
Riley brought in general manager Chad Bowden in January 2025 to modernize USC’s approach. The Trojans landed the No. 1 recruiting class in 2026 after years of falling behind in NIL battles. Tight end Mark Bowman is expected to become one of the highest-paid non-quarterbacks in college football next season. USC reportedly upped its offer for five-star edge Luke Wafle in the final hours and flipped him from Ohio State.
Lincoln Riley Gets Called Out After Breaking Silence on NIL Era
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