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College football has undergone massive shifts in recent years, but longtime ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum believes one change in particular is sending the sport toward a dangerous future.
The growing dominance of the NCAA transfer portal — once a tool for player mobility — has now become a symbol of what Finebaum considers a deeper problem. And in his words, the sport may be nearing a breaking point.
“I think college football is at a tipping point, and I think what is going on now is an existential threat to the future of the game!”
That one sentence, delivered with urgency and conviction, struck a nerve across the college football landscape.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) exits the field
Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Finebaum says the transfer portal is destabilizing the entire sport
The transfer portal was originally introduced to give student-athletes more freedom — to escape toxic coaching situations, find better playing time, or land in a system that suits their development. But with NIL money now heavily involved, many feel the portal has turned into free agency with virtually no rules.
Finebaum’s warning wasn’t about nostalgia — it was about survival. With entire rosters flipping from one season to the next, coaches scrambling to fill holes left by last-minute exits, and boosters playing an outsized role in roster decisions, the college game is looking less like a tradition-rich institution and more like a business in chaos.
Finebaum has been vocal in the past about issues facing the sport, but this time, the message carried more weight. It’s not just about losing players — it’s about losing the very identity of college football.
Whether the NCAA or the conferences decide to address the transfer portal soon could determine if the sport regains control — or keeps spiraling further away from what made it great in the first place.
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