Home You can actually cheat at NIL? Florida State gets caught, sanctioned by NCAA
Sports News

You can actually cheat at NIL? Florida State gets caught, sanctioned by NCAA

Chris Graham
football money
(© Scott Maxwell – stock.adobe.com)

Florida State, which made a federal case, rightfully so, after its football program was left out of the College Football Playoff, had injury heaped on top of insult on Thursday, getting its hand smacked by the NCAA for violations involving its NIL collective.

The FSU football program will have to disassociate itself from the school’s NIL collective for a year as part of the punishment from the NCAA for violating rules prohibiting the use of NIL offers as a recruiting inducement.

Insert joke about how FSU, which is aiming to sue its way out of the ACC, is trying to prove itself worthy of membership in the SEC (motto: if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’) here.

The particularly humorous part to this story is, it’s NIL that they got caught cheating at.

NIL is basically legalized handing money in envelopes under the table to student-athletes.

You’ve got to royally eff up to get punished these days.

According to the NCAA, FSU royally effed up.

FSU’s offensive coordinator, Alex Atkins, drove a prospect, reportedly Georgia offensive lineman Amarius Mims, to meet with the head of the school’s most prominent NIL collective, Rising Spear, who then offered Mims $15,000 per month to transfer to Florida State.

Mims ended up taking his name off the transfer portal.

Per Pro Football Focus, Mims has played on 803 offensive snaps over his three years at UGA, including 297 in seven games in 2023.

PFF gave Mims a 74.8 grade for 2023.

Not sure if that’s worth $180,000 a year, but that’s me.

The one thing you’re not supposed to do in this new Wild West era of NIL is use the promise of NIL deals as an incentive to commit to a particular school.

This has landed Rising Spear on the sidelines for a year, and Atkins was handed down a three-game suspension.

The FSU football program also received a nebulous two-year probation, which isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

Head coach Mike Norvell somehow evaded any sanction; his name, improbably, to me, is listed as a top candidate for the Alabama job, with Nick Saban riding off into the sunset, apparently not interested in playing this NIL game anymore.

That would be what you’d call ironic right there – if Saban quits because he doesn’t want to be a part of NIL, and his replacement is a guy who headed up the first program to get punished for taking NIL to the next level.


Update: Friday, 3:10 p.m. Mike Norvell is out of the running for the ‘Bama job, with FSU announcing that it has agreed to terms with the coach for an “enhanced contract.”

I’ll say: ESPN is reporting the new deal is eight years at $10 million-plus per.

That’s how you play this game, folks. Literally just yesterday, the FSU football program was put on probation after getting caught cheating at NIL, a month after the school sued to get out of the ACC, pleading poverty, and now, they’re paying their football coach an even-more-ungodly sum.

“We are thrilled that Coach Norvell has reaffirmed his commitment to Florida State University and our student-athletes,” FSU AD Michael Alford said. “Throughout his time at FSU, it has been clear how special he is as a person. He truly is so much more than merely a great football coach! His dignity, class, warmth, humility and professionalism is evident to anyone in his presence. We know how fortunate we are to have him as our head football coach, and our university is blessed to have him as one of its most visible ambassadors. As we move forward into a bright future, it is incredibly reassuring to know that Mike remained steadfast and focused on continuing his unifying, collaborative relationships with all of us at FSU. I am elated to continue this journey together.”

Fans and alums wanted the guy sacked after going 8-13 in his first two seasons, before saving his job with a 10-3 record last year, then going 13-0 in the regular season in 2023, ahead of that ugly opt-out-laden 63-3 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl a couple of weeks ago.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].