Here's a question that never used to exist: what happens to a college athlete's healthcare when they enter the transfer portal with a blown ankle and their old school has already moved on? Scott Laigo has the answer. As President of Student Athlete Advocates and a former head football coach at Seattle's Garfield High School, he's in the trenches every day helping athletes and families navigate a system that nobody fully controls anymore. In this episode, Scott joins Dr. Grant Garcia and Will Sanchez to unpack the real story behind NIL, revenue sharing, and the transfer portal. Why are some high school athletes declining surgery to protect $25,000 NIL deals? How are boosters funding arms races that may not be sustainable? And what does the shift to an NFL-style GM structure actually mean for coaches and recruits? Dr. Garcia adds clinical context on team physician pressure, how recent lawsuits are changing what doctors will and won't sign off on, and the growing gray zones around athlete medical care in a portal-era world. Scott's verdict: this system isn't sustainable and real reform starts with fixing the calendar, establishing a cap structure, mandating financial literacy, and getting the right people around the table. If you're a parent, coach, athlete, or sports medicine professional trying to understand what college sports actually looks like right now, this is the episode. Resources: studentathletesadvocates.com | Sponsor: The Recovery Shop #SportsDocTalk #NIL #StudentAthlete #TransferPortal #SportsMedicine #CollegeSports 0:00 Intro + Recovery Shop sponsor3:00 Student Athlete Advocates — Scott's background & mission4:30 The 408:1 counselor-to-student ratio problem5:30 Transfer portal: high schoolers are now #4 in recruiting7:00 NIL evolves into revenue sharing9:00 Boosters, Arch Manning & the sustainability question11:00 The booster entity model explained12:00 Kentucky basketball's $22M NIL budget13:00 The NCAA is effectively null and void14:00 Title IX — the sleeping giant15:00 Coaching under NIL: X's & O's vs. contracts16:00 Oregon's playoff chaos — 7 RBs down to 2 in one week17:30 Fixing the recruiting calendar19:00 Portal timing reform & OTA-style restructuring20:30 Oregon's coordinators leave mid-playoff21:00 Trump's NIL roundtable — right people at the table?22:30 NCAA should just run March Madness — Scott's take23:00 International athletes & global NIL26:00 High school NIL & athletes refusing surgery for $25K27:30 Healthcare gap in the transfer portal — who pays?33:00 Team physicians, incentives & clearing players35:00 Brian Daboll's concussion fine & coaching pressure on docs38:00 Philadelphia Eagles lawsuit & liability shifts40:00 Finan

NIL, Health & the Making of a Student Athlete with Scott Laigo

Get Started

Download the App