Mack Brown shares 1 thing he thinks will help college football

Jul 21, 2022; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina head coach Mack Brown talks to the media during the second day of ACC Media Days at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, NC. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Many of college football’s most prominent head coaches have expressed concern about the current state of the sport, and Mack Brown has one idea that he believes would help resolve some issues.

Brown, who at 72 is the oldest coach in college football, is in his fifth season at North Carolina. He shared some of his thoughts on the transfer portal and name, image and likeness rules during a wide-ranging interview with Brett McMurphy of Action Network that was published on Wednesday.

Brown said he has seen more “drastic changes” across college football in the last two years than any of his four-plus decades coaching combined. While he is in favor of players being able to earn money, Brown suggested that college football needs to implement some sort of salary cap.

“I do think when we get a salary cap as such when we get to a point where there is a system like the NFL, that is a good sound smart system, and there is a clear-cut means that for what you make, then I think it’s all going to be helpful and good,” Brown said. “I think it will settle down at some point. We’ve just got some growing pains here until it does.”

Those comments are similar to what Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said earlier this year. Kiffin said college football is in a “disaster” state and has essentially become a professional sport with no salary cap or luxury tax.

Brown also said he is in favor of an idea that UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham made a few years ago, which is that money players make should be put into an annuity for when they graduate.

We have heard many ideas for fixing the transfer portal and NIL rules. Implementing a salary cap is one of the more popular ones. Brown seems to think a system like that will be in place eventually.