NIL continues to dominant the college football landscape, and that is most certainly the case at Georgia as well. Schools all over the country are coming up with unique ways to increase their NIL budgets, and that includes giving up home games so they can make millions of dollars by playing at a nuetral location instead.
Kirby Smart recently discussed how Georgia has been approached by third parties to move a home game to a neutral venue. This has created a big dilemma in his mind as he debates making more NIL money for his players or keeping the fanbase happy.
"People have reached out since then, even before then, about opportunities that would be there," Smart shared via 247sports.com. "I think you gotta be careful because you're, you're working for two different groups. You know, you're working to generate revenue for your players, which is the lifeblood of your program, but you're also trying to entertain and make sure your customers, the ticket, the home ticket fans, the alumni, the people who buy your seats, are just as engaged."
Kirby Smart is conflicted on new way to make more NIL money
To some it may seem like an easy choice to make. In order to win at the highest level, programs need a lot of NIL money. So why wouldn't Georgia give up a home game to increase their NIL budget by a few million dollars?
This decision isn't as straight forward to Smart thought because he wants to make sure he keeps the fanbase happy. Georgia typically only has seven home games a season, so dropping that to six doesn't seem totally fair to UGA fans. Georgia also has plenty of NIL money already, so a few extra million dollars wouldn't change their program like it could to other programs.
Smart however didn't shut down the idea of moving a home game in the future. And knowing how big of a program Georgia is, there will always be offers on the table for them if they choose to do so.
But it's important to note that if Smart and Georgia decide to ever do this they are only doing it so they can be more competitive in the NIL landscape.