By Trey Wallace

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Syracuse head coach Fran Brown has quickly found success, but he’s also made it clear that he won’t be pushed around when it comes to the transfer portal. In today’s game, schools swoop in with massive NIL offers, trying to lure players away. Brown knows the business — but he also keeps receipts. Coming off a 10–3 season in 2024, several Syracuse players tested the portal in search of bigger paydays, especially when the Orange couldn’t match outside offers. Brown doesn’t hide his frustration when players leave after just one season, which he discussed on the ‘I AM ATHLETE’ podcast. “When they come, and don’t hard work the first year and then go leave, it’s like ‘why you waste our time,” Fran Brown noted. “I could’ve given that scholarship to somebody else’. You come and want to leave after one year, you’re a fraud.” Syracuse Coach Fran Brown Was Not Giving Into NIL Demands From WR Trebor Pena, Told Him ‘You Got To Go’ Tampering Won’t Be Tolerated, He’ll Privately Handle It For Brown, it’s not about players transferring — it’s about how it happens. He doesn’t mind if schools play the game the right way. But if a coach uses back channels or tampers during the season, that’s when things get personal. “I don’t even care bruh,” Brown said. “Dude’s be trying to push up on my wife. She’s bad. It’s just the game it’s what they do. I don’t care, but don’t let me find out and then I’ll see you. Cause I ain’t no b****. Like I’m gonna come at you like ‘what’s up?’ I’m gonna see you. “If they came and did it illegally, and I find out, I’m not gonna go tell on you. But, I’m gonna come at you like ‘What’s up, yo’, I’m gonna see you’. There’s a couple of dudes I called and they tried to say ‘lose my line’. Like man, shut up. We’re in college man, there ain’t no gangsters. They don’t care cause they’re doing whatever it takes to impress somebody else and bit their own people back out, just to go impress somebody, or move up one spot. Not knowing, one day I could be the guy calling the shot where you could’ve been at.” Fran Brown Enjoys Making Other Schools Raise The Price One of the funniest parts of the Syracuse head coach talking about how he handles the transfer portal is the approach to raising the price on opposing schools. But, he’s also not going to get caught tampering, knowing that with all the talking he has done, it will come back to bite him. “I ain’t hitting them up. If you in the portal, I’m gonna talk to you. If not, I ain’t doing all that. Because for me, they’re gonna try to make an example. I’m not about to be the example for somebody talking to somebody in the portal. I ain’t doing all that.” College Athletes, NIL Money, The Price Of Criticism: Welcome To Pay-For-Play, And The Real World The transfer portal has reshaped college football, but Fran Brown isn’t shying away. He’s blunt, unfiltered, and unapologetic about how he handles roster movement. Whether it’s calling out “frauds,” checking other coaches, or making rival programs overpay, one thing is clear: Fran Brown knows how to play the game. “He went and got more bread, and that’s my homie. I messed with him, but I can’t compete with that. I’m not doing that, but they got you, but I taxed your ass. I made you pay and come out way more, and he ain’t even worth that.”