Can the NFL Save College Football? Josh Pate Makes a Shocking Case

College football is broken.

If you are even a casual observer of the sport, you probably don't need me to tell you this.

I've written about it several times, but between the transfer portal, NIL, and a completely bonkers calendar, it's hard not to see the declining health of the sport.

READ: An Ode To National Signing Day. Gone But Not Forgotten

One man sees a potential solution from an unlikely source, though.

College football commentator, Josh Pate, was talking about this very topic on a recent episode of Josh Pate's College Football Show, and even he couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"It has come to my attention… I failed to realize it may be the NFL that ends up saving college football," Pate said. "I never expected the combination of words to come out of my mouth."

"If the three-letter CFB can’t save themselves, maybe the NFL can come in."

It's a shocking admission from a man who, by all accounts, is a card-carrying member of the "college football is better than the NFL" fan club, but if there is a potential solution to the problems that plague our favorite sport, I'm all ears.

The big issue is that, lately, there is a leadership vacuum at the top of college football, with the NCAA seemingly out to lunch when it comes to a large portion of the problems running rampant through the sport.

"Who’s going to step in and do something about this?" Pate asks. "Who’s the face of college football? Who’s the face of leadership in college football?"

While the NFL could help, why would they want to?

The answer: reciprocity.

The NFL benefits massively from college football, as Pate outlines succinctly in his argument.

"The NFL massively benefits from college football… they don’t have to have a minor league. College football does it for them."

It's all about the bottom line, and if this starts to affect the NFL (and it will), then they will see no other option than to step in and help.

"We’re not very far… from a world where a guy declares for the draft… goes undrafted… and says, ‘I’m going to accept a low seven-figure offer to go back and play another year.’" Pate explains.

"The undrafted free agent pool could very much be tampered with."

While I never wanted college football to look anything like the NFL – and I'm sure Pate didn't either – the pro model could be a blueprint to help fix the issues of eligibility.

"The NFL can help in matters of eligibility," says Pate. "(They can help) teaching college football how to pool their media rights."

"If collectively pooled (CFB media rights) are worth three or four times as much… The NFL figured it out a long time ago."

Things are a mess right now, and college football is way too chaotic to govern itself.

The NFL won't help because it's the "right thing to do," but if it affects their bottom line, they will step in.

If the NFL can help save college football, people like Pate and myself may have to hold our noses and accept the assistance.