Former NFL star JJ Watt called out the NCAA on Monday for calling college athletes first students.
Watt pointed out in X's post that the money the organization earned, the appearance of names, images and portraits (nil), transfer portals, and cross-country travel teams must make.
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Arizona Cardinals defensive end JJ Watt, #99 responds after losing to the Patriots on December 12, 2022 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Patrick Breen / The Republic / USA Today Network)
“At some point, the NCAA must drop the charade of “students first, athlete second,” writes the former Wisconsin Badgers star. “Billions of dollars, Nir, transfer portal (free agency), mid-week game cross-country trips…
“Education is not the main focus. We'll acknowledge it and call it what it is. Business. Do it that way.”
When one X user realized that Watt's points seemed to only mention the best players in the best programs, Watt agreed.
“That's exactly my point,” Watt added. “We have kids who are 'not making money' and don't go to professionals, but they travel around the country mid-week for 'conference games', school relocations, sacrifices of sports research and more.
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Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman JJ Watt, #99 will appear on the field before a match against the Patriots at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on December 12, 2022. (Patrick Breen / The Republic / USA Today Network)
Many NCAA ranked college coaches reflect the points of Watt.
Former Alabama Crimson Tide Football coach Nick Saban tore the NIL handling of college sports in February 2024.
“What we have now is not college football, not college football, as we know it. You can hear someone use the word 'student-athlete'. That doesn't exist,” Saban said in an interview with ESPN.
He added that university sports groups “have nothing to do with names, images or portraits.”
ESPN analyst Nick Savan before the match between Notre Dame Fighting Ireland and the Pennsylvania Nittany Lions at the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on January 9, 2025. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Immagn image)
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“There's no raid of all this roster and popular movements because there's something in place like NFL players are on a contract or coaches are on a contract,” he said. “There's no team development and we only invite new players every year, so what do fans say when they don't know the team every year?”
Ryan Morik of Fox News contributed to this report.
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