Former Baylor quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III has dug up a Stanford controversy not many know of. He believes the Cardinal was among the few programs to have paid players before NIL came into play in college football. Many have called out the claim as “lies”, including Stanford alum Richard Sherman. But Griffin refuses to back down.

“Love ya, Rod. But the facts are the facts,” Griffin responded on X, presenting a screenshot of a Stanford Daily article covering the incident. “Stanford violated NCAA rules in football and softball. No made-up stories. No clout chasing. Just real facts.”

Stanford self-reported two NCAA violations in 2014, one involving football and another involving softball. The NCAA later classified both as Level II violations.

Two Stanford boosters gave a football player nearly $3,500 in extra benefits, which included free use of a vehicle, food, and use of a vacation home. The player, later identified as wide receiver Devon Cajuste, used to live with the booster for a while as part of a housing program, which was used to help students find accommodation in the summer.

The benefits also included movie tickets, use of a vacation home, and a loan to purchase a bicycle. The non-loan benefits were valued at less than $400, while the bicycle loan had already been repaid.

Cajuste said he unknowingly accepted the benefits. Stanford declared him ineligible, and his reinstatement required a one-game suspension and a charitable payment equal to the value of the benefits. The NCAA later reinstated him. Stanford also ended the housing arrangement and moved football players into campus housing.

Before NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) became the driving force it is today, incidents like this were treated as big no-nos by the NCAA. Benefits are still a violation in college athletics, but the money is now open business. College football players now have the chance to earn more than what they would make as a rookie in the NFL. Miami Hurricanes quarterback was reportedly offered a $10 million package (you can read that number again), and Ole Miss star Trinidad Chambliss is expected to make $6 million this year.

According to the Marriott Student Review, almost 75% of college athletes in the Power Five level consider NIL payments before they pick their schools.

The punishments for receiving benefits can be serious. USC Trojans star Reggie Bush was accused of receiving impermissible gifts, and his agent, Lloyd Lake, sued the former running back and his family in 2007 to get back $291,600 in cash and gifts. Bush voluntarily gave up his 2005 Heisman Trophy amid all the backlash. USC, however, received perhaps one of the harshest punishments in NCAA history.

The Trojans had to vacate all wins of the 2005 season, and two from their National Championship-winning 2004 campaign. They were also banned from the postseason for 2010 and 2011.

Interestingly, Bush’s Heisman was reinstated in 2021, when NIL had become the norm. But the damage was already done.

“It was tough for me, but being labeled a cheater was the toughest part,” Bush said on All the Smoke podcast. “Going through that and also having to go through different stadiums in my career and hearing people chanting ‘cheater’ and ‘liar’ and all of these things. And in my head I couldn’t believe it.

“I’ve never failed a drug test in my life,” he added. “So it’s just crazy to me that I was somehow labeled a cheater when I never cheated.”

Stanford’s case came at a time when even relatively small benefits could create a problem. Millions of dollars are now changing hands through NIL deals, something that would have been impossible under the rules governing college athletes back then.