Joel Klatt sounds off on re-signing trends among CFB stars after Malik Washington, Waymond Jordan news

Earlier this week, Maryland quarterback Malik Washington and USC running back Waymond Jones confirmed that they would re-sign with their respective teams for the 2026 season. While some have been pleased with players re-signing with their teams, rather than entering the transfer portal, analyst Joel Klatt is not a fan of the trend.

On Tuesday, Klatt shared his thoughts on the issues in college football regarding players re-signing for their teams, while also discussing player representation.

"I can't with the re-signing of players," Klatt said on "CFB on Fox." "I'm sorry, I started seeing some of these announcements on social media. ... This is not their fault, okay? But, like, Malik Washington, Waymand Jordan, LaNorris Sellers, there's all these stories about, like, 'Oh, they're gonna come, you know, they're re-signing, they're working on a deal to stay.' And I'm like, 'I don't want to hear that; I don't want to see it.' "You mean, was he about to leave? You know, this is so different than in the National Football League, when your favorite team has a player that you love, that you know is a free agent, and then they re-sign him, and you're, like, 'nice.' That feels a lot different than, like, 'I'm a fan of a college team, and I just think that this player who's committed to this school, who's at this school, who has more eligibility left, and is making a large sum of money through NIL, and then all of a sudden he's like, I'm re-signing.' It's like, I didn't know you thought about leaving."

Klatt also said that player representation plays a big role in whether the athlete will continue with the team or transfer elsewhere. However, the analyst added that the representatives might not have the best plans for a player's on-field development.

"And then there are some representation out there that is representing college players, and they want to play by their own rules," Klatt said. "And some of the representatives, by the way, not very sophisticated. Guess why? Because they're not representing a client that is a part of an association or a union, so they don't have to register. So, the players can hire whomever it can be, like Uncle Eddie. "We don't know who these representatives are, and that's not to say that all of them are bad, but there are some that certainly don't know what they're doing."

With the indroduction of NIL, student-athetles can negotiate with college programs on a certain fee to re-sign with a team. However, Klatt is not fully in favor of the process.

Malik Washington had a strong 2025 season despite Maryland's overall struggles

NCAA Football: Maryland QB Malik Washington - Source: Imagn

Malik Washington enjoyed a strong 2025 season at Maryland. The QB finished his freshman year with 2,963 passing yards, 21 total touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Despite Washington's solid performances, Maryland finished with a 4-8 record, failing to qualify for a bowl game.

Edited by Arnold