Lane Kiffin on NIL, Travis Hunter: I hope players are 'getting all the money they're being promised'

OXFORD — Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin just hopes promises are kept.

The biggest news of the early signing period and the NIL era of college football came Wednesday when Travis Hunter, the No. 1 recruit in the country per the 247Sports Composite rankings, signed with Jackson State over a long-standing commitment to Florida State.

Hunter's decision is one that will reverberate throughout college football, particularly at the Power 5 level where Kiffin coaches. When asked about Hunter's choice and the new direction recruiting seems to be taking, Kiffin had plenty to say about the whole enterprise.

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"We're in free agency but there are no contracts," Kiffin said. "I really hope for these kids they're getting all the money they're being promised at these schools when they get there. Because there's a lot of money being promised so I hope for them that they get it."

Kiffin was critical of the same topic in his press conference Monday. He argued players are more than ever incentivized to follow big paydays when making their recruiting decisions but no guarantees or protections are in place to make sure these players actually make money off their names, images and likenesses when they do sign.

There are no confirmed reports on how much money Hunter is expected to make at Jackson State. Sources told the Clarion Ledger that circulating rumors of an NIL deal between Hunter and Barstool Sports are not true. 

In his announcement post, Hunter didn't mention money or NIL payments as his motivation for picking Jackson State. Alternatively, Hunter talked about the rich football tradition at historically black colleges and universities and the unique opportunity to learn under coach Deion Sanders, an NFL Hall of Famer who excelled at the same position Hunter is expected to play.

To insinuate that Hunter only signed with Jackson State because of branding opportunities is unfair to Hunter. But it was impossible to ignore talk about NIL deals and the effects of branding. Whatever his motivation is, Kiffin is hoping these players get what they're promised.

"These guys get promised all this money to come places but they don't have a contract, which in free agency in the NFL you obviously would and know that you're guaranteed to get paid what you're being told you're going to get paid," Kiffin said.

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.