NIL has taken over college football, but for the most part Georgia hasn’t allowed it to become the focal point of their program. That however changed Monday night when they released a highlight video from their week one over Tennessee State that’s behind a paywall.
This video is something that was regularly shared in the past for free, but any Georgia fan that wants to view it must first subscribe to “Glory Glory Georgia” and contribute to Georgia’s NIL collective. A minimum amount of $20 must be paid to view the content that previously has been given to fans for free, and that will be charged monthly to keep viewing content like this for the rest of the season.
🎥 Watch the full Victory Highlights on https://t.co/Fackoy85Rn and the Glory Glory app pic.twitter.com/zD6WEwYLag
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 7, 2026
Georgia’s effort to raise NIL money went one step too far
The average fan is being priced out of college football. Ticket prices, concessions, parking and tuition are all increasing seemingly every year, and nearly every turn schools are asking fans to spend more of their hard earned money to contribute to NIL. The thought of helping a school with NIL money was exciting when it first became legal, but enough is enough.
Fans shouldn't have to pay $20 per month just to watch a highlight video. It's one thing to have to spend more money to go watch a game in person, but it isn't fair that fans who can't afford to go to a game now won't be able to consume as much content as they could before.
Georgia has a chance to make this right. Fans on social media are pushing back on this rather hard, but all Georgia has to do to make people happy is post the video online for free.
Kirby Smart’s NIL reputation is in jeopardy
Kirby Smart has made it clear throughout the NIL era that he doesn't want Georgia to be a program centered around NIL. He understands the importance of NIL and that he can't ignore it, but he has never been a coach obsessed with spending NIL dollars.
That makes this decision from Georgia rather strange. It's unlikely that Smart has anything to do with this highlight being behind a paywall, but this is his program so it still falls on him. If Smart wanted he could go to the people responsible for "Glory Glory Georgia" and ask them to let people watch it for free, but who knows if he will do that.
Kirby Smart's reputation in the NIL space won't be ruined because of this, but fans will start to question if Georgia cares too much about NIL. So far Smart has always shown that he cares more about the development of his players and the program as a whole than chasing a quick buck to spend more NIL money, but this could be the start of a new era of Georgia football that fans may not want to see.
Georgia can make this right with one simple decision by posting this content for free, and after all the backlash they're getting online it might be wise for them to do so.
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