Roger Goodell says NFL willing to assist college football amid 'disruption,' NCAA governance issues

College football faces numerous issues in the no-holds-barred era of the transfer portal, revenue sharing and NIL. The NFL is willing to assist in creating a straight path, according to league commissioner Roger Goddell. College coaches constantly worry over tampering, inducements and there seemingly being no rules against under-the-table recruiting amid rampant changes across the sport.

Speaking during his annual Super Bowl week press conference at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, Goodell said the olive branch would need to be extended from college football's side before the NFL could potentially be of service.

"There's obviously a lot of change going on and a lot of disruption, and they do need to bring some clarity to that," Goodell said this week, via Sports Business Journal. "And I think that's something that, if for some reason we could be helpful with the right people, we would obviously be willing to engage with anybody. But I think we try to stay in our lane unless we're invited in to be part of the solution."

The question was initially posed to Goodell on whether or not he thought college football's vast changes could be a future threat to the NFL, but he declined answering that.

Instead, he mentioned the NCAA's governance issues and said the NFL was following both recent cases in college basketball involving professional players returning to amateur athletics after challenging their eligibility.

At the NFL level, an athlete must be at least three years removed from high school competition and have forfeited their college eligibility to enter the draft. Numerous elite college programs were hurt last month by NFL early entries, including Ohio State and national champion Indiana.

"We keep a close eye on this," Goodell said. "I think our eligibility rule is really good for young men who play our sport. It gives them a chance to mature and get an education, which will benefit them for a lifetime. I also think [the rules] develop stars. They come in as stars, and I think the strength of college is something that I think is good for all of us."

During the 2026 portal cycle, more than 25% of all FBS players made themselves available, which essentially creates an "amateur" free agency market without guardrails disguised under the veil of the House v. NCAA antitrust settlement that was supposed to -- legally -- provide players with their rightful piece of a multi-billon dollar operation.

There's coaches publicly accusing others -- with proof -- of tampering, schools suing players for buyouts, fifth and sixth-year starters challenging eligibility rules and behind-the-scenes bidding wars taking place for elite-level talent.

Goodell nailed it when he labeled all of the above simply "disruption" within college athletics and as the CEO of a multi-billion dollar operation at the NFL level since 2006, perhaps asking him and his constituents for advice of problem-solving could be a good start.