Texas' Steve Sarkisian questions NCAA's rules on player agents in NIL world: 'Might be their college roommate'

Texas Longhorns head football coach Steve Sarkisian still has one more game to play in his 2025 season, but like every other program in the country, he has to recruit for 2026 and beyond at the same time. 

That process has obviously changed now across all college athletics after the introduction of name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, which has turned recruiting into a financial game. 

But one of the many holes in the system, at least in the eyes of Sarkisian, is the lack of regulation surrounding the agents these athletes hire to negotiate those NIL deals before heading off to school. 

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Before the Longhorns take on the Michigan Wolverines in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, Sarkisian discussed that aspect of recruitment, suggesting some of the agents are not even qualified to be negotiating deals that could be millions. 

"Which agent are you dealing with? There’s some agents who are rational and then there’s some where it’s their first time ever being an agent," Sarkisian told reporters, per OnTexasFootball. "I don’t even know if they’re licensed to be agents, and all of a sudden, they get to be agents because we have no certification process in college football, where the NFL you have to be certified. In college football, it might be their college roommate their freshman year who’s their agent right now."

Sarkisian was asked about what Texas is looking to do this offseason to replace some key players, including running back Quintrevion Wisner, who entered the transfer portal. Wisner made the announcement of the move this past Friday, joining CJ Baxter and Rickey Stewart Jr. as Texas running back transfers.

While Sarkisian explained how the team needs other be strategic, identifying what they need versus what they want, as well as looking at the "luxuries" they have on the roster, he also made sure to mention the high school recruiting class for 2026 that needs to be looked at.

Either way, Texas continues to peruse the transfer portal, and Sarkisian knows he’s going to have to continue having phone conversations with "agents" moving forward.

"Again, I think there’s nothing wrong with that," Sarkisian said after reflecting on how financials have come into play when it comes to building a college roster. "We’ve just got to tighten it up. Hopefully, we can get there sooner rather than later, because again, I’m probably going to be on the phone with an agent today who’s going to throw a number at me that I’m going to be like, ‘Good luck, I hope you get it. If you don’t, call us back. But I can’t do that number.’"

Unlike other lower-level programs, the University of Texas has some tremendous NIL funds to work with. In fact, the highest-paid NIL athlete in college football is their quarterback, Arch Manning, who will remain with the squad heading into 2026. He’s hoping to finish strong in his first bowl game start on New Year’s Eve.

Texas led the way with a massive NIL budget for the 2025 season, ranking higher than any team in college football at $22.2 million, according to 247 Sports.

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