Utah AD Says Player Was Offered $1 Million To Transfer

A member of the Utah Utes was allegedly offered a massive amount of money to leave the program.

In the current era of NIL, star players are able to make a lot of money based on name, image and likeness, and it has led to some serious dollar amounts being thrown around. That includes attempting to entice players to leave their current teams, and that's exactly what happened to one unnamed Utah player.

A Utah player was allegedly offered $1 million to transfer. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

"We had a player who was offered, I believe, about a million dollars to pull him over to another team. I called that AD and had a discussion, right? And he’s frustrated. Everybody’s frustrated. Because this was a friend, it was a friendly call. It was just to say, ‘Listen, it happened.’ My colleague was—embarrassed is not the right word, but he was frustrated," athletic director Mark Harlan explained to Sports Illustrated.

It's noted the player did not leave Utah.

This offer to a Utah player is a great example of the current state of major college sports.

Welcome to the new era of college sports. This is America, and people absolutely should be allowed to make money. That's the mindset that separates us and the communists.

However, I'm not sure anybody thought things would be this loose and fast once athletes were cleared to start profiting.

Is NIL out of control? (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Calling up a player and offering him $1 million to transfer is downright crazy. That's not what college athletics is all about. That's what you expect to see in the pros.

It's also not what NIL is meant for. Name, image and likeness is meant for players to profit off autographs, advertising and things of that nature. It's not meant for a booster to call a player and offer them enough money to buy a mansion in many states to transfer.

Unnamed Utah player was offered a ton of cash to leave. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

However, fans should get used to it because it's unlikely to change at any point in the near future. NIL is here to stay, and unless regulations come down from the federal level, this is the new normal.