College football’s transfer portal was supposed to create opportunity and flexibility for players. Instead, it has rapidly evolved into something far more familiar, and far more chaotic. What we are now witnessing is essentially a version of NFL free agency, only without the same transparency, structure, or guardrails.
Transfer Portal Chaos
With only one official transfer portal window now available for players to enter and choose their next destination for the 2026 season, the urgency has skyrocketed. That urgency has also quietly created what looks and feels like a “tampering period” before the portal even opens.