LSU Football: Ed Orgeron brings up a big potential NIL issue

It’s a sure sign that LSU football is nearing its return when Ed Orgeron is on the podium at SEC media days.

Coach O spoke to reporters about various topics on Monday at SEC media days in Birmingham, AL.

One of the topics that Orgeron spoke about was the new name, image, and likeness rules that went into effect on July 1.

For the first time, NCAA athletes are allowed to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

Obviously, there’s a litany of potential issues that could arise with NIL changes. Tax laws, conflict of interest, etc.

On Monday, Orgeron brought up another potential issue that I hadn’t considered.

LSU football’s Ed Orgeron speaks on NIL changes and potential team impact

Orgeron told reporters that NIL changes are “one of the biggest things to manage these days.”

Specifically, he wants to make sure locker room tension because of NIL deals isn’t an issue.

Coach O is concerned that inequities in NIL deals among players could cause locker room issues (via Brooks Kubena).

This makes a lot of sense and it’s not something I had thought about being a problem.

We’ll likely see a wide variety of deals made by players. Most players will be making deals with local companies for modest amounts of cash. But other players — star players like Derek Stingley Jr or Myles Brennan — could see much larger deals.

And then there’s always the possibility that a player could land a deal over a teammate, which could certainly lead to tension.

There’s no doubt this could be tough for a head coach to manage. But it’s a good sign that Orgeron is cognizant of the potential for locker room issues. It’s always better to be proactive instead of reactive.