The transfer portal, just like college football, is currently filled with chaos.
Across all divisions, over 10,500 players put their name in. As of Jan. 15, 1,200 are still without homes, according to NCAA.com.
Iowa State has lost 46 players to the portal, Oklahoma State has lost 54 and the Colorado Buffaloes have lost 30. Texas has lost 28 players to the transfer portal, including some big names like receiver Jaime Ffrench Jr., receiver Parker Livingstone, running back Quintrevion Wisner and linebacker Liona Lefau.
How did we get here?
Before Name, Image and Likeness, COVID and revenue sharing, the transfer portal was frowned upon. Building rosters and developing young players was the norm, with sit-out rules in play to maintain roster stability. Then, COVID hit in 2020, granting student-athletes an extra year of eligibility, swelling rosters and room for scholarships. To adapt to this, the NCAA created the one-time transfer rule in 2021, abolishing the one-year sit out rule and simultaneously creating a new form of free agency amongst players.
In 2021, NIL was introduced as a legal way to pay players, making their value lean toward transactional rather than developmental.
Fast forward to present day, it seems that college football has drastically changed due to the transfer portal. It rewards funding more than loyalty and development. The central question, which once was “Should players be paid?” has shifted to “What is a player really worth?”
“The number one reason people leave is money,” Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders said back in November 2025. “It’s not a disdain for staff or a disdain for players. It’s money. Let’s just be honest man, let’s stop sugarcoating this foolishness.”
Just look at Duke, who lost its quarterback with hours left in the portal window. Rising junior quarterback Darian Mensah threw for 34 touchdowns on just six interceptions, all while leading the Blue Devils to their first Atlantic Coast Conference Championship win since 1962. Mensah, who Duke built a roster around over the past year, is likely leaving to head to Miami, who is losing Carson Beck after the season concludes.
Today, the current system incentivizes tampering. With just a one-time, 15-day transfer portal window and a climate where coaching jobs are constantly at risk, just a fraction of the players who put their name into the portal benefit. Most are left without realistic opportunities, and some lose their careers altogether. Will Turboff, a scouting assistant at A&P Sports Agency, is still trying to get former FBS guys onto rosters.
It’s easy to assume that these players are leaving voluntarily, but for most, that is simply not the case. When Livingstone announced he was entering the transfer portal, it seemed like it wasn’t his choice and that he wanted to stay, with the former Longhorn writing “some things are out of my control” on his Instagram post.
“Good players are being cut from good teams because they misappropriate rosters,” Turboff said.
Livingstone was picked up by Oklahoma shortly after entering, but some guys still haven’t found a team.
“If you weren’t scooped up by now,” Turboff said, “You’re probably not playing football again.”
Simply put, there needs to be more regulation in the transfer portal. The NCAA needs to be there for every step and regulate what is happening in the negotiations. While the NCAA turns a blind eye to the mess it has created, players are losing opportunities for both development and an education.
