Broken NIL promises may be cause for massive Kansas football player exodus

Over the last several offseasons, the Kansas football team was a bit of a rarity. The program didn't seem to get hit as hard as many other schools did when it came to players departing through the portal.

Many of the players on the roster when Lance Leipold arrived, or those who entered the program right before his arrival, knew something special was happening. For more than a decade, KU had been the laughingstock of college football. Leipold came in and immediately changed the culture, and players wanted to play for him.

Many of those players stayed through their eligibility, laying a solid foundation for the future. Things peaked in 2023 when the Jayhawks, despite star quarterback Jalon Daniels missing most of the season because of injuries, went 9-4 and won a bowl game for the first time since the 2008 Orange Bowl.

Expectations were high in 2024 and 2025, but the team finished 5-7 both seasons and missed qualifying for a bowl. While it was disappointing, it was an indication of just how far Kansas football had come that five-win seasons were now disappointments.

Are there issues with the Kansas football NIL program?

In December, Jon Jon Kamara announced he was leaving the program. Neeley Keys, the mother of Gage Keys, who also left KU after the 2023 season and then returned for the 2025 campaign, posted on X that players leaving Kansas didn't have anything to do with the coaches, and by insinuation, the culture of the program itself. She pushed the blame onto Rob Ianello.

Ianello is listed as the general manager for Kansas football on the KU Athletics website. It is not clear exactly what that role entails, but evidently, it has something to do with putting together NIL deals for players. Keys is clearly calling Ianello out as the reason why so many players have entered the transfer portal.

Then, Heartland Sports posted that Lawrence Arnold, one of those foundational players who stayed at Kansas through the 2024 season, replied to the Neeley Gage post that Ianello was indeed the problem and had been lying to players about how much they could earn. This is unconfirmed, as the screenshot provided by Heartland Sports is incomplete and couldn't be verified as from Arnold.

Heartland College Sports first reported this story on December 13, and since then other key players have announced they are leaving, including safety Kyrik Rawls, center Tyler Mercer, running back Harry Stewart III, quarterback David McComb, and linebackers Trey Lathan and Joseph Sipp Jr., among others.

If this is truly from Arnold (not verified), it carries some weight. Arnold is a respected former Jayhawk who spent five seasons at KU and accumulated 2,219 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches. He isn't some random dude off the streets with no inside perspective. These words, if they are in fact his, should carry some weight.

The growing list of departing players also lends some credence to the story, though other reasons could be at play.

However, if this story is true, then Ianello is hurting the program, and this needs to be addressed immediately by Leipold and athletic director Travis Goff. The whole NIL era is murky enough without someone inflating possible payouts to prospects. NIL is a bit of a nightmare anyway, but that is a topic for another day.

Who oversees the NIL program for the Kansas football team? Is it Ianello? Who is overseeing what he is doing and what he may be telling athletes? If these statements about Ianello are true, that is going to make it very hard for Leipold to build upon the modest success he has achieved over the last several years.

Usually, where there is smoke, there is fire, and if this is an issue, then Leipold and Goff need to take stock of the situation and ensure that a more honest approach is taken in the future.

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