UFC president Dana White told the Barstool Sports podcast "Spinnin Backfist" that college athletes earning tens of millions of dollars through name, image and likeness deals is "a problem." [1] "Money ruins everything," White said, discussing college football programs now spending $30 million to $40 million a year on players. "Only time will tell as this plays out. And yeah, my experience is money ruins everything." [1]

White made the comment while promoting a Power Slap event he is staging on Texas Tech's campus the night before a football game, an appearance he called "perfect for college football." [1] He did not address how his own promotion pays its athletes.

That omission matters. Unsealed court documents from UFC's antitrust litigation showed the company's own commissioned pay study found UFC paid 18.6% of event revenue to fighters, versus 76% for Major League Soccer and 62.5% for boxing. [2] A UFC executive called the finding "really good for us" in internal messages, arguing fighters should be compared to individual stars like Tiger Woods rather than team-sport athletes. [2]

The contrast sharpens what White's remark actually objects to: not money in sports, but athletes outside his control capturing a bigger share of it. College football's NIL era has let players negotiate directly with boosters and collectives, bypassing the kind of centralized compensation structure UFC has defended in court for over a decade.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos