Jim Gazzolo column: Shopping season is over

Published 2:24 pm Thursday, January 1, 2026

Let the madness begin.

College football’s annual free agency begins Friday, just hours after the current playoff season gets whittled to a final four.

While most of the focus should be on this year’s championship run, a majority of the talk will circle the now-infamous NCAA transfer portal.

Over the next two weeks, the 2026 fall season will be played out not on the fields inside monster stadiums in front of roaring fans but rather over phones between “agents” and coaches.

College players will often turn their careers over to these agents for a hefty percentage of the take. All in the name of amateur sports.

This entire process sure feels dirty.

While I have always been for college athletes getting compensation for their talents, there is no question that the pendulum has shifted too far toward their side.

Just as important, too much of the talk goes to those players who are shifting schools for what will be considerably greener pastures to fill their bank accounts. It is the perfect education in capitalism taking place on college campuses.

As the pats on the back go to all those players who are bolting for new digs, far less attention is paid to the kids who decide to stay. Their stories might not be as flashy, but they could be just as important.

We have already entered the time when re-signing announcements are becoming increasingly frequent, as if staying at your job or sticking to a commitment has become a story. The college game has become obsessed with player movement on all levels.

The portal doesn’t officially open until Friday, but for weeks now, all the conversations, once LSU finally signed Lane Kiffin, were about who is going where.

Even Kiffin has had a countdown to the portal, believing he will sign a group of players who will turn the Tigers into an elite team by the time school resumes after the break.

All the upcoming moves change all levels of the game, from the big programs to the small.

McNeese State, for instance, has several key players either announcing they are heading to the portal or rumored to be leaning that way. You’ve got to figure there are more than a few Cowboys who will test the free agent market and see what is out there.

That makes perfect sense for them as they often have to choose between playing time and paychecks.

Last year, things worked out for linebacker Micah Davey, who moved from McNeese to Texas-El Paso and finished with 131 tackles to lead the Miners. Then there is safety Boogsie Silvera, who led the Cowboys in tackles in 2024.

Silvera, who made some Football Championship Subdivision all-American teams with McNeese, transferred to South Florida but played in four games and made five tackles after being limited by injury.

The duo show how uncertain the portal can be for players on all levels, especially those looking to move up a division. There are no guarantees.

This will make for a long two weeks for McNeese head coach Matt Viator and his staff, especially general manager Aaron Ingram, as they try to put together a roster puzzle without yet knowing the pieces they have to work with.

That’s madness.

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Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com