Georgia Governor thinks new NIL legislation helps Georgia win a national championship
By John Buhler
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law new NIL legislation on the belief it will help Kirby Smart’s Georgia football team win a national championship.
By signing into law new NIL legislation, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp thinks it will help Kirby Smart and his alma mater’s Georgia football team win their first national championship since 1980.
Georgia is the latest state to pass NIL legislation. While doing so may help Kemp’s beloved Georgia Bulldogs, it also benefits the three other FBS programs in the state: Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Georgia Tech. Though the Dawgs are easily the best bet of the quartet to compete for a national championship now and in the future, it remains to be seen how NIL impacts Georgia.
Is signing NIL legislation into law the missing piece to help get Georgia over the top and win it all?
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signs the state’s name, image and likeness bill at UGA football recruiting lounge. He said he thought it would help Kirby Smart and UGA win a national championship. pic.twitter.com/9nRc3ldghx
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) May 6, 2021
Georgia football: Brian Kemp thinks NIL will help Dawgs with a national title
The last time Georgia won a national title, Kemp was a student at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia. It has been over 40 years since the Dawgs finished a college season on top. While Georgia has recruited at an elite level under Smart and under Mark Richt before that, you can argue Georgia is the best program in the country that has not won the College Football Playoff yet.
Admittedly, Georgia is close and has been for a while. However, they play in the same Power 5 conference as the Alabama Crimson Tide, and no Nick Saban disciple has ever beaten his mentor before. Smart was the long-time defensive coordinator under Saban in Tuscaloosa before taking over his alma mater’s program in 2016. With that in mind, time is on Smart and Georgia’s side.
Signing into law NIL legislation will likely help Georgia, but not to the degree Kemp thinks it will.
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