Former Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello rails against NIL era: 'It's just a mess'

Rich Edson speaks with Outkick host Jonathan Hutton on Congress allowing college athletes to be paid for their NIL and the potential hurdles this decision may cause.

Since the advent of the transfer portal and the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL), there have been countless debates about how to create and adjust a system to establish guardrails when necessary.

As the college sports landscape has adjusted to NIL, the gap between college programs with deep-pocketed boosters and alumni and smaller schools with fewer financial resources has continued to widen. 

Although he was in a position to potentially benefit from those perceived advantages during his time as head coach at Tennessee, Tony Vitello railed against NIL's shortcomings.

"It’s a disaster," Vitello told Taylor Lewan and Will Compton during a recent episode of the "Bussin’ With The Boys" podcast.

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Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello during Game 1 of the NCAA baseball tournament Fayetteville Super Regional against Arkansas at Baum-Walker Stadium June 7, 2025. (Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Vitello coached the Volunteers to the program's first national championship in 2024. Despite his lack of coaching experience at the MLB level, Vitello was named manager of the San Francisco Giants last month.

As he reflected on his successful tenure at Tennessee, Vitello shared some of his grievances with the current NIL system.

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"It’s a disaster," Vitello told Lewan and Compton. "We all have thoughts that you dream a little bigger. I kind of have this weird fantasy or vision of, OK, can