JJ Watt blasts the NCAA in a string of posts about the transfer portal

There are so many issues with the NCAA right now that it's hard to really nail down what the worst part is, and the NIL, revenue sharing, etc., are only making things worse. Former Badger great JJ Watt is fed up with how little the NCAA seems to care about the "student" part of the "student-athlete." He jumped onto X the other day and posted a string of concerns around the transfer portal and the overall concern the NCAA has with its athletes.

"Literally cannibalizing your own sport." JJ Watt is irate over how the NCAA is being run

The first bone he has to pick is with the transfer portal. Currently, there are 16 teams left to play in the NCAA D1 Men's Basketball Tournament, and yet the transfer portal opened yesterday. That means that players have a window to move around while the "playoffs" are still ongoing. That's insane. There's even a player from Michigan who's in the Sweet 16 who has jumped into the portal. His season isn't even over, and he's decided to move on.

Watt said this is "cannibalizing your own sport. Imagine NFL free agency starting the Monday after Wild Card Weekend..." When you put it that way, it truly is incredibly insane.

He then reflected a bit more and realized that the whole thing is a mess. The "student first, athlete second" messaging that the NCAA promotes is garbage. Evidence is in the way they treat the athletes and how education takes a backseat to athletics.

He clarifies his point by saying that the NCAA needs to stop pretending it's not a business. The mess right now is caused by the NCAA's desire to pretend to be student-focused but act athlete-focused, which creates a ton of confusion. When pushed for clarification by a follower on his social media account, this is exactly Watt's point.