College Football Free Agency: The Transactional Nature of Big-Time College Football Recruiting

This study explored how the transfer portal has transformed college football recruiting by disrupting traditional relationship-based practices and accelerating the shift toward a transactional performance-driven model. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and capital, the research examines how recruiting coordinators navigate evolving pressures around talent acquisition, NIL compensation, and compressed recruiting timelines. Findings from comprehensive interviews with five Power-4 recruiting personnel reveal that relationships are increasingly leveraged for short-term gain. The findings of this study indicate the transfer portal has created an opaque high-stakes marketplace where trust is limited, valuation is speculative, and institutional pedigree/resources heavily influence opportunities. The evolving landscape of collegiate athletics challenges longstanding values and necessitates new strategies from recruiters operating in a deregulated and hyper-competitive environment. Implications include reconsidering ethical standards, regulatory mechanisms, and athlete support systems in a rapidly shifting field of play.