Kirk Herbstreit Sounds Alarm On Bribery In College Football

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit made his stance on paying high school athletes very clear, and he doesn't love what he sees as bribery.

In the middle of Week 1's college football Saturday, Herbstreit and Johnny Manziel hopped on Instagram live to chat about the noon window and the games coming up. As part of it, they discussed the completely different landscape of the sport since Manziel's career when it comes to NIL and the transfer portal.

Manziel supported both; he likes players' ability to transfer without punishment and believes they're in a great spot with all the NIL opportunities. Herbstreit agreed with some points, but not with others.

"I'm mixed a little bit," he said. "I also like guys facing adversity and sometimes having to fight through that."

With NIL, Herbstreit explained that he supports guys cashing in once they've established themselves in college. He's more unsure about NIL deals for high school prospects who have never played a college down

"Like, if you were playing, if you created Johnny Manziel the football player and were able to create money off of that, I'm all for that," said Herbstreit. "But if you're a high school football Johnny Manziel and A&M bribed you to come to school, they paid whatever, I'm not a fan of that."

Johnny Football would have been a monstrous force in the NIL marketplace, especially after he returned to school a Heisman Trophy winner. Again, that's the ideal use of NIL, per Herbstreit, rather than paying the next Manziel before he even gets on campus.

"I'm not a fan of these collectives basically bribing high school players to come play," he added.

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