It's official, Pitt star receiver Jordan Addison has been added to the Transfer Portal as of Tuesday afternoon. Addison had been reported to be considering whether he would transfer over the weekend:
Pittsburgh WR & Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison has officially entered the portal. In 2021 Addison had 1,593 receiving yds & 17 TDs on a Pitt-record 100 catches in 14 games. Led the Pitt with 1,834 all-purpose yards.@Espn_Jordan@PantherLairhttps://t.co/Qdnh1qbYW5
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) May 3, 2022
The Transfer Portal deadline for Addison to enter required the star receiver to submit paperwork to Pitt of his intent to transfer by 11:59 p.m. May 1, to be eligible to transfer to another program and play in the 2022 NCAA season. This indicates he met that deadline, but it still does not indicate which school he might choose.
As previously reported by DK Pittsburgh Sports, Addison was considering multiple other programs in power five conferences because of NIL (name, image and likeness) offers he was getting. Reportedly, some of the NIL offers Addison was receiving would've led him to choose either Texas or USC, but that the NIL offers to attract Addison to USC exceeded the offers for Texas that were approximately $1 million.
Those reports were further substantiated by Colin Cowherd, who reported on his podcast that the NIL proposal for USC was approximately $3 million. Since then, a source confirmed with DK Pittsburgh Sports that more schools were in the mix with other offers. But a report from John Garcia Jr. of Sports Illustrated also indicated that the USC parties involved with NIL offers may be hesitant to follow through with them because of fears of retaliation for claims of tampering in Addison's situation. USC does have a history with penalties from the NCAA for "pay-to-play" arrangements with Reggie Bush back in 2004, and could look to avoid any other accusations that might lead to further punishments.
The question of tampering comes because Addison's entertaining of potential NIL offers would've happened before he entered the Transfer Portal, and thusly be against NCAA rules if, and only if, USC or another university and their officials were involved with contacting Addison. That would take a lot to prove, but if it could be proven, it could be devastating to USC as a program before new head coach Lincoln Riley got to coach his first game.
While that doesn't mean that Addison won't pick USC or any other program, it does mean that Pitt might not be out as an option for Addison to return. Junior cornerback Rashad Battle indicated Tuesday on Twitter that he and his teammates would welcome Addison back:
Pitt as in who? His real brothers and family on this team? Yes absolutely! Funny to me how everybody else had something negative to say on social media under his posts🤔Even if he did y’all would just delete them negative comments and act like nothing happened.. Weird to me. https://t.co/ZTCs4luTwl
— Rashad Battle (@RashadBattle15) May 3, 2022
Battle doesn't speak for everyone in the program, but Pitt was rumored to have NIL offers that matched others that might've attracted him away. And Addison's talent as the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner who led the country with 17 touchdown receptions would be something that would help Pitt's staff, coaches and players overlook Addison's considering leaving the program.
Whether Addison chooses USC, Texas, or another school like Alabama, or returns to Pitt, he's the biggest name in the Transfer Portal and the team that he chooses will be receiving a dangerous threat to score whenever he's on the field.
