- May 21, 2026
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For decades, the best of the best players from HBCU schools found their next opportunities in the NFL. Times have changed, dramatically.
Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, the new head coach at Southern University, recently explained the changed circumstances for HBCU players.
“I believe that the next level is no longer the NFL,” Faulk said recently during SWAC Football Media Day, via Steven J. Gaither of HBCU Gameday. “We get poached by the FBS. They want our players.”
That's one of the basic realities of the new era of NIL and the transfer portal. Once it's clear that players at HBCU programs can perform at a high level, high-level college programs will come calling.
“They have an opportunity to maybe go somewhere and make good money while they’re in college,” Faulk said. “The game has changed. The landscape of college football has changed.”
In past years, this would have meant Hall of Fame players like Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Aeneas Williams, Jackie Slater, Michael Strahan, Shannon Sharpe, Mel Blount, John Stallworth, and Deacon Jones landing quickly at major college programs — and making significant money. Now, the best players at HBCU programs will get opportunities to play, and to get paid, by some of the programs with real money to spend while further honing their skills before a chance to perform in the NFL.
Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, the new head coach at Southern University, recently explained the changed circumstances for HBCU players.
“I believe that the next level is no longer the NFL,” Faulk said recently during SWAC Football Media Day, via Steven J. Gaither of HBCU Gameday. “We get poached by the FBS. They want our players.”
That's one of the basic realities of the new era of NIL and the transfer portal. Once it's clear that players at HBCU programs can perform at a high level, high-level college programs will come calling.
“They have an opportunity to maybe go somewhere and make good money while they’re in college,” Faulk said. “The game has changed. The landscape of college football has changed.”
In past years, this would have meant Hall of Fame players like Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Aeneas Williams, Jackie Slater, Michael Strahan, Shannon Sharpe, Mel Blount, John Stallworth, and Deacon Jones landing quickly at major college programs — and making significant money. Now, the best players at HBCU programs will get opportunities to play, and to get paid, by some of the programs with real money to spend while further honing their skills before a chance to perform in the NFL.