SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is not running the tightest ship right now. Across two sports, two of his most prominent brands in the NIL/rev-share era are bending the rules and angering the masses, most notably, other conferences' figureheads.
Everyone cannot believe what the Alabama Crimson Tide has done, bringing back Charles Bediako, who declared for the 2023 NBA draft and spent two and a half years in the Association's G League system. It blurs the lines between the pros and College Basketball. It further separates the idea that the NCAA is running anything close to an amateur collegiate league.
Nate Oats took away any ammunition from Bama fans who always talked about Bruce Pearl hosting a recruit at a BBQ in Tennessee during his Volunteers tenure in the pre-NIL era. Once you bring an NBA player back, you're the dirtiest player in the game.
Things are undoubtedly more chaotic on the hardwood, since an NFL player hasn't returned to College Football yet. However, former Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Shemar Stewart came alarmingly close to a College Station comeback after being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2025.
Where things are particularly ugly right now on the gridiron is the transfer portal, and, in general, the recruiting trail.
The Clemson Tigers signed Cal Golden Bears linebacker Ferrelli out of the transfer portal, and got all the needed signatures for a Financial Aid Agreement. Ferrelli enrolled in class for the spring semester. He was seemingly set to be in Upstate South Carolina. Then, Pete Golding's Ole Miss Rebels stole him away for their No. 2-ranked portal class during the January cycle. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney claims Golding texted Ferrelli, "I know you're signed. What's the buyout?"
That's quite the problem in the recruiting realm. Not quite bringing a pro back, but those optics are unsettling for the public.
Genespage's Steve Robertson warned Sankey that this blatant bending of the rules, in what's looking like an increasingly desperate attempt to remain relevant as a conference following the Indiana Hoosiers clinching a third-straight Big Ten CFP title, will come back to bite him soon.
As Robertson reports, it goes even deeper than that. The Federal Government is not thrilled with the "It Just Means More" conference and could look to do something about it soon if Sankey and Co. continue to operate as they've been.
"Swinney is alleging dirty pool. He appears to have a case. What will be done about it remains anyone's guess, but Ole Miss may have taken things a step too far. But, like Alabama pushing the envelope, it likely leads to greater guardrails. One day, some guy drank a bottle of shampoo and now we all have the warning label telling us, 'Do not drink,'" Robertson wrote.
"Swinney and the Tigers are calling the matter a blatant disregard for tampering rules. Like the Bediako affair, fan reaction is largely split. Some say Swinney needs to change with the times. Others claim, that by rule Ferrelli was no longer a recruitable athlete and was on file with the NCAA as a Clemson signee. One of those schools of thought may be popular in the court of public opinion, but Swinney and his side appear to have the benefit of the letter of the law.
"Another matter of interest making the rounds these days is that several schools around the country are not using the NIL Go system as required by the House Settlement. Genespage has learned that at least two schools in the SEC have received correspondence from the College Sports Commission about their non-compliance. The CSC is essentially the new enforcement arm of the NCAA, but they are having some issues with manpower and enforcement.
"The question that persists is what will the CSC do about it? Will they write the offending schools a ticket for jaywalking or take more meaningful action? That remains to be seen, but if some action is not taken the wild, wild west will simply grow downright feral. There is already chatter that some schools are using promissory notes to get outside the guidelines of the CSC's NIL directives. The fleas always find the dog and the dog in the house of Sankey has to be itching."
Robertson was the go-to reporter on all things relating to Hugh Freeze's Ole Miss exit. Sankey has a certified problem on his hands.
Greg Sankey is facing the make-or-break stretch of his SEC tenure
Sankey is battling bad public perception right now. While he's nowhere close to losing his job, since he built the SEC into a powerhouse with four of the top five most-watched College Football programs in the country, there are too many perceived sketchy dealings happening in his conference to go on this way.
Why does every legal matter relating to an SEC program happen in that team's legal jurisdiction? What happened to SEC football's prestige? How is the conference going to restore its former glory in the sport that rakes in the most money?
Winning cures all. So does doing things in a way that's not so blatantly non-compliant.
We'll see how Sankey survives this brave new world of over-regulated collegiate sports; one where money flies every which direction, and state and federal governments involve themselves intimately.