UGA Head Coach Kirby Smart, QB Stetson Bennett discuss how 2021 championship changed things

ATLANTA — Georgia football is back. After a celebratory offseason following their national championship, the team is gearing up for its 2022 season.

After their championship win over Alabama, the majority of the roster have received Name Image and Likeness deals, helping them make money while at the school. This is the second year for NIL deals with college athletes.

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Channel 2′s Alison Mastrangelo is at SEC Media Days in downtown Atlanta this week and sat down with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart on Wednesday, who said he is in favor of NIL as long as his players don’t let it distract them.

“We have 95 different players have done .. NIL deals,” Smart said. “Our kids are making a lot of money, but it is not about the money they’ve made. It’s about how they manage that success, ... and when you start to come into that kind of money that some of our players are, then you need to be smart with it.”

But his players know that they can’t miss classes, practices or games to take part in a paid appearance.

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One of the players who has reaped those NIL benefits, quarterback Stetson Bennett, told Channel 2 Action News Wednesday that he has had to adjust to managing football, school and NIL appearances this season after winning a national championship.

Bennett said his fame got him spotted in Florence, Italy, of all places.

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Take a behind the scenes tour of the new UGA Bulldogs training facility (WSB-TV)

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