Adam Loewy is one of the top personal injury lawyers in Austin. Adam is a proud graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and started his law firm in 2005. Adam helps people who have been injured in car crashes, slip and falls, dog bites, and other assorted ways. He is actively involved in every case he handles and is always available to talk or text. If you or a loved one has been injured, call the Loewy Law Firm today at (512) 280-0800.
There was a time when signing day was the most anticipated offseason event in college football. The buildup to that first Wednesday in February felt like a holiday. Even with early commitments, there was always drama, kids sitting behind a table stacked with hats, making a theatrical pause before the reveal. One person announced from a hot tub. One jumped out of an airplane. Signing day became must-see TV, a nationally televised spectacle built on suspense and surprise.
That version of signing day is gone.
Today, the drama has been stripped down to a social media post or a professionally produced commitment video, often outsourced to a graphics wizard, like Hayes Fawcett. Most elite prospects are committed by the summer, long before February ever arrives. And the most important part of the decision process is not the hat on the table, it is the NIL number attached to it. The highest bidders land the best players, and no one is pretending otherwise anymore.
The excitement that once defined signing day has been replaced by the transfer portal.
What used to feel like the opening act at a local music festival, something you casually wandered into at 3 p.m., has become the midnight headliner that brings the house down. The portal officially hit rock-star status when it opened on January 2, dominating the sports conversation until it slammed shut at midnight on Friday.
This shift has forced fans, coaches, and media members to learn in real time. What was once viewed as a necessary evil is now being framed as the future of roster building. People look at a team like Indiana, powered largely by transfer portal additions and playing for a national championship, and wonder if this is the blueprint going forward. It is too early to make that determination with certainty, but one thing is clear: the transfer portal is no longer optional. It is foundational.
And over the past two weeks, we learned a lot.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways.
1. Timing Matters More Than Ever
These guys are brothers. That is the line we hear every offseason: teammates who love each other, go to war together, and embody everything a program claims to value. Coaches beam with pride when they talk about culture, chemistry, and locker-room buy-in. And for the most part, that bond is real.
But this season reminded us how fragile it is.
We watched players quit on teams in the middle of the season to get a head start on the transfer portal. At Texas, multiple Longhorns chose not to risk injury in the bowl game and publicly announced their intent to leave. Bowl games have become optional. Even playoff teams were not immune, with players exiting before the season was technically over just to beat the clock.
Ideally, the portal would open in the spring. In reality, coaches want a full offseason to work with what are essentially free agents, especially when those players come with a significant price tag. Miss the timing window, and the consequences are immediate.
We learned the opening-day roster now exists like Marty McFly’s family photo at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance – players fading in real time, one by one.
2. Nothing Is Official Until It’s Official
Players and agents played a wicked game during the transfer portal window this year. They leaked information to some reporters that a specific player intended to enter the transfer portal in an attempt to gain bargaining leverage. The move was designed to prompt other teams to contact the agent and start negotiations, or to pressure their current program to re-sign them. There were many occasions when that player never actually entered their name in the portal.
Meanwhile, we learned that entering the transfer portal does not mean the movers are showing up that weekend. Texas defensive back Derek Williams Jr. entered his name in the portal, only to re-sign with Texas. Across the country, a multitude of players threatened to leave and were ultimately convinced to stay home.
We also heard rumors of players who were expected to enter the portal but never did. Some players even committed to a program and never closed their recruitment, later signing elsewhere. Hollywood Smoothers committing to Alabama and signing with Texas remains a good example.
Until the portal is closed, you have to believe none of what you see and half of what you hear.
3. You Have to Be Willing to Say No
Texas general manager Brandon Harris had one of the toughest jobs in December and January. Harris was forced to play the villain when agents called asking for more money to keep their players in Austin. He had to tell people no and allow players to walk out of the building.
One person shared a thought with me during the portal window that stuck: if every player wanted $1 million, Texas would have an $85 million roster. Simply put, you cannot pay everybody.
Would you have paid Parker Livingstone $800,000?
Would you have given Quintrevion Wisner nearly $1 million?
Would you have handed out a $200,000 or $300,000 raise to players who barely saw the field in 2025?
Would you continue paying a player $700,000 if they were not in the two-deep, or ask them to take a pay cut?
Saying no is not easy. But the money Texas saved was redirected toward acquiring impact players in the transfer portal.
4. Some of These Players Are Represented by the Wrong People
Do you know what it takes to be a college football agent?
You simply say you are one. No classes. No certifications. No vetting. That is all it takes to claim a percentage of a player’s NIL deal. Many of these street agents are throwing out random numbers based on imagination, not market value. Coaches and general managers were forced to negotiate with uncles, cousins, and personal trainers who had no background in contract negotiations.
As of Sunday morning, there are currently 6,568 football players across all divisions in the transfer portal. Of those, 1,530 FBS players do not have a home. Not every player was pushed out. Many received bad advice and may never play college football again.
We learned the NCAA needs to establish criteria and certification for agents, just like every other professional sport.
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