LSU Coach Brian Kelly on NIL: ‘We’re Not Gonna Go Out and Buy Players’

Tigers' football coach made a bold state statement regarding current NIL and recruiting landscape

Auburn Tigers head coach Bryan Harsin and LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly talk before Auburn / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

After losing Maason Smith, Jordan Jefferson, and Mekhi Wingo, three of their top defensive line players, to the NFL draft, LSU entered the NCAA transfer portal looking for some major replacements. The Tigers have pursued several high-profile defensive linemen but haven’t landed one yet.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly was asked about the topic during an interview with Baton Rouge TV station WAFB. His response was blunt, and his answer seems to indicate that they’ve been outbid in the portal. 

“We were in the market in recruiting in the transfer portal, looking for defensive linemen,” Kelly said. “It hasn’t fared very well, frankly. Because we’re selling something a little differently and that is – we want to recruit, we want to engage, build relationships, develop, retain, and have success.”

“We’re not in the market of buying players. And unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought.”

Long before NIL money, players were attracted to the potential for graduating to the NFL as a top draft prospect. Now, with NIL opportunities, recruits want cash up front. Just last month, the Tigers had quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas all selected in the first round of the NFL draft.

“Look, I understand that NIL is part of this, and we have an incredible collective, Kelly said. “We have very, very generous opportunities from around the Baton Rouge area for NIL opportunities. They are here. But we’re not gonna go out and buy players. That’s not what this is about.

It’s obviously a turn-off for Kelly and other coaches, most notably Nick Saban, a recent retiree from the University of Alabama. Boise State’s head coach, Spencer Danielson, recently made headlines by saying the team would offer no guaranteed NIL opportunities to incoming freshmen. While the teams can’t ban anyone from making NIL money, they can certainly not help them obtain it. 

“We will develop you and get you ready for the next step. As we did with Jayden Daniels, as we did with Malik Nabers, as we did with Brian Thomas. We developed three defensive linemen that all got drafted this year and we’ll do that again. 

“But if you’re just looking to get paid, you’re looking in the wrong place. If you like all the things we do here in developing our players, bringing you into a championship program, playing in front of the best fanbase in America, playing for championships, and having an opportunity for NIL – you should be a Tiger. If you just want to get paid, this is not the place for you.”

LSU opens their 2024 season on September 1 in Las Vegas against USC.