College football looks very different from the days when Dwayne Johnson, the actor and former WWE star, played for the Miami Hurricanes. Players who once barely got by can now make millions through NIL deals. And while Johnson is glad to see it, he thinks someone has to monitor the system so that it keeps working for the athletes.
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In a recent Instagram reel, Johnson talked about the money now flowing to college athletes, the NFL career that never happened, and what he wants to see as the sport changes. Calling his college football days, The Rock appreciated the NIL culture in today’s times. He even called himself an advocate for NIL in the reel, but his caption included where he draws the line on CFB Changes.
“I’m a champion and advocate for NIL – as I want all college players and all of you out there – to make as much as you can, doing what you love,” Johnson wrote in the caption. “We have to keep an eye on things and see where we need to make wise amendments, but my first priority will always be the players.”
Johnson backs players earning as much as they can, and he wants any adjustments to keep those players at the center. He also looked back on his own college days, when players had no such opportunities. So, players had to hustle to get by.
That’s why, when he couldn’t make it to the NFL, the failure felt like having a “lifelong chip” on his shoulder. But eventually, it became his “guardian angel.”
Johnson played defensive tackle at Miami in the early 1990s and was part of the 1991 national championship team. Over four seasons, he appeared in 39 games with one start, finishing with 77 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
Teammate Warren Sapp, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, took the starting job and pushed Johnson into a backup role. It became a turning point. He graduated in 1995 and signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, where he was moved to linebacker and placed on the practice roster. Calgary released him two months into the 1995 season.
He didn’t blame bad luck, politics, or anyone else for not making the 53-man roster. He likened himself to the 54th player, “good but just not good enough.”
“I didn’t make it because it just was not in my cards,” he said.
For the longest time, he believed the NFL was supposed to be the way to financial stability.
“Making it into the NFL meant I was gonna make money. It meant we weren’t gonna live in trailer parks or apartments anymore,” Johnson added.
Buying his parents their first home, his own first home, and his first car came much later, after he made it in WWE at the age of 28.
Johnson also credited his NFL failure for shaping him and giving him the hunger that eventually made him a 10-time World Champion. In his words, the NFL was “the best thing that never happened for me.” But as for regrets, he has none.
“But I do miss aspects of football. I have zero regrets,” he concluded.
Johnson’s support for NIL is rooted in the struggles he experienced as a college athlete. He knows what it means to chase a dream without financial security, and he wants today’s players to have the opportunity he never had.