Here is a more behind the scenes article on what occurred.
It is not the first time a star player has left a college football team over money and in the Wild West era of barely-regulated transfer portal and NIL rules, it won't be the last
www.cbssports.com
What should likely be pointed out based on this article is that fans should expect to see more and more athletes make decisions to pull the plug before they play game 4 of the season to retain their redshirt.
"We've even already seen the midseason transfer a few times early in 2024.
Oklahoma State offensive lineman Jason Brooks announced that he'd enter the portal last week. Earlier this week,
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said that
Jaden Mickey, who had been third in the team's cornerback rotation, would do the same."
"You, in theory, could get another shot at a payday and maximize your time in college," a Power Four general manager told Chris Hummer of 247Sports/CBS Sports. "I think players are going to start paying attention to your four games and whether to look at it through the lens of a business decision."
There are also documented cases of players exercising their leverage to request more money for play.
Before Maryland's 2022 Mayo Bowl game appearance against
North Carolina State, Tagovailoa and two other players went to Locksley and said they'd need $50,000 each to play in the game,
The prevailing sentiment is that the system is at fault here, rather than the player. It's going to happen again. How long until players hold out in the middle of the season?