Jedd Fisch proposes change to eliminate in-season contract negotiations with players

As the 2026 college football season starts to wind down, contract negotiations are expected to ramp up. Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor was the latest example of high-profile talks as he finalizes a deal to stay in Starkville, as On3’s Chris Low and Pete Nakos reported.To Washington coach Jedd Fisch, though, those talks shouldn’t begin until after the season’s over. He said there’s one specific part of the calendar that makes sense for schools and players to begin those negotiations.$39.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverageFisch said in-season contract discussions are challenging because of the day-to-day grind during game preparation and said while every program handles those its own way, he sees December as a good opportunity. That’s the window between the regular season and bowl games, and he acknowledged it could be different for College Football Playoff teams.With Kamario Taylor agreeing to a massive extension to stay at Mississippi State, is this a sign of things to come in College Sports?@UW_Football HC Jedd Fisch (@CoachJeddFisch) breaks it down with @DustyDvoracek & @Bcarp3! pic.twitter.com/Q9x01wc82Y— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) November 13, 2026“When do you start the negotiation? I think that’s going to be up to everybody trying to figure out what’s best for their program,” Fisch said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “It’s easy if you go to a player and say, ‘Hey, I want to pay you crazy amounts of millions of dollars to be our guy,’ and that guy is excited and takes it. And then, I think it’s also much more challenging when you have to have different type conversations and say, ‘Hey, as we’re trying to do X, Y or Z, what does that look like for you?’SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter“So I feel like it’s really challenging to have these conversations right now. I think that at the end of the season is the right time to negotiate with your team. I think we have time between bowl games and end of season. We have time between playoffs and end of season. That’s the time. And if you’re in the playoffs, I would think that those guys would want to wait until after the playoffs, but I don’t know.”Taylor joins Oregon State wide receiver Jesse Legree and OSU quarterback Braden Atkinson as players who are either finalizing contracts for 2027 or have announced them. Others are likely to follow with just a few weeks left in the regular season. The transfer portal opens in January.But in the new age of college football, Jedd Fisch said programs have more personnel who can speak with players and agents, which helps head coaches. He also stressed the need to know how much a school can, and will, invest.“We do have general managers now and we do have personnel guys that are having these conversations with agents, which is definitely important,” Fisch said. “But I definitely believe, you still have to know what you have financially to be able to negotiate.“And you have to know where your team sits and where you want to be and how much you want to invest. As you’re trying to have these conversations with your staff and personnel department, you’re also trying to game plan and scheme and practice.”