Joshua L. Jones-USA TODAY NETWORK

Georgia HC Kirby Smart subtly trolls big NIL money

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Kelsey Kramer | Last updated 3/22/24

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart may be a man who means business but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a joke up his sleeve.

Smart used his extra turbulent flight en route to the Macon Touchdown Club on Monday evening to poke fun at NIL deals.

"It was the bumpiest plane ride, windiest plane ride I’ve ever been on, so I was thinking,” Smart said, " Could I have gone in the parking lot, my players' parking lot, and maybe got a Lamborghini and drove down really fast?”

Turbulence is no fun but neither is trying to squeeze into a Lambo, as Smart noted.

“That’s an inside joke for some of you,” Smart said, “I thought about it, I don’t think I could drive one, I don’t think I could fit in one of those. [But] there’s definitely a different parking lot when it comes to players in the world we live in right now.”

It's no secret that NIL deals and the transfer portal have gotten out of control leaving coaches to wonder what the solution is.

But for the Bulldogs, the NIL has worked out in their favor and helped keep starting quarterback Carson Beck around for another season.

With the extra money, Beck was able to treat himself to a $300,000 Lamborghini last month.

Georgia QB Carson Beck bought a $300K Lamborghini Urus

That NIL money different.

(h/t @ThPlayersLounge) pic.twitter.com/Gc6NKo6jjT
— Overtime (@overtime) February 6, 2024

But you won't see Smart riding in the passenger seat.

After visiting Macon, Smart returned to Athens, and on Tuesday, he was asked about NIL deals and the possible effect on coaches wanting out of the profession.

Smart said he doesn't see that being a problem, though he hopes a better system will soon be implemented.

"I would love to see a little more fair system for the players in terms of within the players," Smart told reporters. "But I don’t have a lot of coaches complaining saying they want to get out of the profession. They enjoy their profession. They want the profession to be about relationships, developing talent, and rewarding positive performance both on- and off-the-field. That comes through what you’ve done and your body of work of being there, not necessarily where it’s a reverse system of the younger players sometimes getting more than the older players.”

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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