Missouri Coach Eli Drinkwitz, Who Makes $6 Million A Year, Says Players Are Making More In NIL Than His Pediatrician Brother-In-Law Who 'Saves Lives'

This is probably the weirdest comment about NIL I've seen to date. Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz is apparently quite upset that some players are receiving what the market has dictated their talent is worth and are making more than his brother-in-law, who's a pediatrician.

Drinkwitz seems to have forgotten before making that comment that he's a government employee and it takes about three seconds to find out he makes $6 million a year to coach those very players. He even received a contract extension and raise in the midst of a 6-7 season last year. If there's anyone who should love the market of college football, it's this guy.

But more importantly, this is just such a weird thing to say. Obviously, there's the fact Drinkwitz himself makes far more than his brother-in-law and doesn't seem to think he's overpaid. But does anybody decry most professional football players making more than pediatricians? Of course not, because teams — private businesses — have determined that their labor is difficult to replace and compensates them enough to keep them. Now it's just legal to happen at the college level, where there is clearly labor that some people feel is worth a lot of money to attract.

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And you're worth whatever someone is willing to pay you.

My pal Jack Mac is absolutely right to point out that any coaches saying stuff like this are just killing themselves on the recruiting trail. Kids being recruited to play college football right now care about two things: a coaching staff's ability to get them to the NFL and the amount of money they can make while they're in school. That's it.

Maybe Drinkwitz will announce his intentions to reduce his pay to $150,000 a year to put himself below his self-imposed pediatrician cap. He's not saving any lives, after all.