The Georgia Bulldogs Just Gained a Massive NIL Advantage

All schools in the state of Georgia, most notably the Georgia Bulldogs, will have a massive competitive advantage over every other team in the country.

Georgia governor Brian Kemp put an executive order into effect that stops the NCAA from enforcing regular NIL rules, specifically stopping them from taking “adverse action” for what they deem improper NIL compensation.

The Georgia Bulldogs can now directly pay players

The executive order put into place and signed by Kemp is effective immediately, meaning the Bulldogs can now pay players, in violation of the NCAA’s NIL rules, and be protected from any “adverse action” on the NCAA’s part.

There is currently a settlement pending regarding student-athlete compensation and the executive order directly addresses that as outlined in an On3 article.

“Student-athletes in the State of Georgia should compete on a level playing field and not forgo compensation available to student-athletes in other states while the settlement is pending,” Georgia’s executive order states.

Under head coach Kirby Smart Georgia already has one of the most polished and well-rounded rosters in the entire country. If they are able to compensate players without having to go through a third-party entity like the rest of the schools around the country, their top-tier roster will only continue to widen the gap between themselves and everyone else.

The Bulldogs haven’t had a recruiting class outside of the top five since 2016 when Smart pulled together the ninth-best recruiting class in the country in his first season as the Georgia head coach.

Georgia’s recruiting class has been the best in the nation four times out of the last seven years. If any school needs help with recruiting, it’s not the Georgia Bulldogs. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who are also the beneficiaries of this new rule as Georgia residents, may see more improvement from this ruling.

The continued lack of parity in college football being exacerbated by this executive order has some fans concerned about the future of their favorite sport.

This should help Smart, as if he needs more help

— Frank (@frank223) September 17, 2024

While Georgia has cheated for years, they are now empowered by politics to openly cheat even more. So much for the whole concept of level playing field in college sports.

— James Ericson (@Real_Joe_Friday) September 17, 2024

Get More NFL and College Football Content

For more news and trends in the NFL and college football world, click here or follow me on Twitter @KusleikaAndrew.