It's hilarious how nobody wants to talk about FSU football until they start cooking in college football recruiting coming off a 2-10 season. The Noles only had seven commitments going into last month but rattled off 14 commits since and now have a 66 percent blue-chip ratio with 21 commits in the 2026 recruiting class.
Out of nowhere, a hit piece comes out talking about how FSU's handling of player contracts is unfair and way different than other schools.
Of course, several podcasts picked up on this article and gave their opinion, including "The Triple Option." Former Florida head coach and SEC lover Urban Meyer gave his opinion on the report:
"If this goes through, the days of Florida State are numbered," Meyer said. "It won't happen; it can't happen; no chance." The segment discussing FSU starts at the eight-minute mark in the clip below:
He's right. The lifeblood of a program is recruiting. Here's the thing. If the contracts are so terrible, how has FSU gotten 21 players to commit in this recruiting cycle and 14 within the past month? Mark Ingram gave his opinion, but he's looking at it purely from a player standpoint so I take it with a grain of salt.
The schools have the right to protect themselves because of the way some of these players and agents operate. FSU was held hostage by some players after the 2023 season, with players threatening to enter the transfer portal if they didn't get more money.
FSU received zero return on those investments because many of those players failed to live up to expectations for what they were paid.
Some guardrails have to be in place if the NCAA or whoever isn't going to do it. The players are getting paid big money and must be held accountable. A player could literally fake an injury and not play but still receive every single dime of their contract. Who is that fair to?
As a former college athlete, I'm all for players getting their bread, but I understand the business aspect of things. The balance of power has to shift more towards the middle instead of players having all the leverage, and I think that's Florida State's angle. Folks can question FSU all that want. They did it when they sued the ACC and we saw FSU came out on top in that situation. FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford is among the best in the business. He hasnt' made too many wrong moves since assuming that role a couple of years ago. FSU will be just fine with how they do things with these player contracts.