Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Unleashes Brutal Old School Takedown Of The Transfer Portal And NIL Money

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a timeless institution for football fans. They have their way of playing the game and conducting business. Some fans call it old school and find comfort that at least one of their cherished childhood memories has not changed very much. Other fans define it as the Steeler Way and point to the organization's stability, loyalty, and success in the Super Bowl era as the gold standard in running a professional sports franchise.

2023 stretched and tested the fabric of the Steeler Way. In his tenure, Mike Tomlin came under fire like never before for retaining Matt Canada. After he dismissed him, the Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals and then endured a three-game losing streak with unprecedented back-to-back losses to teams with 10 losses. The Steelers were reeling, and the Hall of Fame in waiting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger podcast that the Steelers tradition might be dead.

Steelers' Roethlisberger Gives Another Controversial Take

Tomin and the Steelers rallied to make the playoffs, but Roethlisberger is still making headlines by standing in his front yard and telling people to get off his lawn. It turns out that Roethlisberger is not just unhappy about the state of the Steelers organization. He doesn't care much for the current state of college football, either. Roethlisberger joined his former teammate Bruce Gradkowski on the Alpha 5 Method podcast on YouTube and shared who shaped his thoughts on the transfer portal and the name, image, and likeness money that is transforming the sport.

“My dad was a good athlete. He was highly recruited by Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, all those guys came to the house,” Roethlisberger recounts. “He went to Georgia Tech to play quarterback, blew out his knee, and then played baseball the rest of the time. My dad sat on the visitor's side, up in the corner, for all my games. He didn’t cheer. If I did something good, he might just give me a (raises fist). Put him in today’s world like with everyone transferring all over the place, if I would have went to my dad and said listen, 'I’m not playing, I want to transfer,' he would be like, 'You better keep your butt there and work harder and find a way to be a starter.'”

If you are not familiar with Roethlisberger's opinions on the state of college football, this may come as a bit of a surprise to you. Roethlisberger has often criticized the transfer portal and NIL money as bad for the modern athlete and worse for the NFL. However, this is the first time that he has revealed the origin of these takes, which stem from how he felt his father would react to the current state of college athletics. 

"Nowadays, you don't have to go to the big school," Roethlisberger concluded. "Name one of the power fives, you don't have to go there to get to the NFL. As a matter of fact, it's probably a harder road, 'cause every year, they are looking to replace you. There are still a lot of schools out there that are not power five that are great schools that you can get to the NFL. It's like the wild west out there. We used to joke when the rookies would come in, bet you took a pay cut to come to the NFL. Now it's true. They truly are taking a paycut to come to the NFL."

College football has been transformed, and it is not going back. The NCAA brought this on themselves, and the NFL allowed them to operate a free feeder system into professional football, and they are reaping the whirlwind. Players are coming to the NFL with full stomachs and less incentive than ever before to work hard to play in the league. It isn't every player, but it is enough to catch the attention of veterans like Roethlisberger, who lamented about the locker room in his final season after his retirement. 

Roethlisberger has previously drawn the ire of his former teammate Cam Heyward for stating his perception that some players in his final years were not as dedicated to football and team success as their predecessors. Heyward blasted Roethlisberger for asserting that too many players were "me-first" in 2022. After the 2023 season, the Steelers captain might be wondering who isn't one of those players on the Steelers' young offense. 

The players entering the NFL Draft lost a lot of leverage when the rookie salary cap was imposed in the collective bargaining agreement. However, the addition of NIL money and, as Gradkowski points out, entering free agency via the transfer portal every offseason, has transformed the sport. Players do not need to declare for the NFL Draft early. If they are unhappy with their draft position, they can collect another paycheck to stay in school. 

It is all legal, and it is also almost impossible to regulate. Don't expect the NCAA to get a handle on it anytime soon. Tomlin stated there wasn't a booster with a big enough checkbook to get him to consider a college coaching job. Maybe he was right, but they do have big enough checkbooks to ensure that players entering the NFL don't always need the money, and the complacency that is breeding is hurting the game. It is time to admit that Roethlisberger had a point in 2022 and has one now. 

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is Roethlisberger right about the current state of college football and its effect on the NFL? Please comment below, or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.

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