Some interesting comments above on this. I guess my beef with this new paradigm in college football is that I see a terribly uneven playing field. To me, this is a green space for what use to be cheaters - the (factory) haves, have the potential to wreck the sport. In my opinion, NU is not one of the haves in this environment. If you can't fill your stadium with your own fans (season ticket holders), it will be very difficult to remain a competitive force in the pay for play era.
If this were regulated and administrated as some have suggested, it would have been a very good thing. But unregulated, as it seems to be, will make the football rich (who have large packed stadiums, many wealthy boosters, large in-state following fans, etc.) richer, and lesser programs poorer. And what about the locker room effect if you're Joe offensive lineman getting a grand or two a year, and your QB is getting 100 times that? When I played ball for money at Chicago & Kedzie, wins and losses were divided evenly because the team had to bet a minimum amount on itself every game, and that amount was shared evenly. Maybe we were communists.
I have no objection to players making money from their considerable efforts - that's a good thing. But the way it seems to be shaking out, e.g. Miami car dealer, untested QB getting $1 million deal, Texas linemen, etc. doesn't seem to favor schools like NU. I don't care about Alabama, OSU, Michigan, ND, Georgia, USC, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M (except my bro in law coached there). I care about NU, and of course, want the program to be successful. It's always been a tough challenge for NU, and to it's credit, it has managed to be very competitive in the last 25 years. We all want that to continue, and to have NU compete at a high level on an even basis with it's conference mates.
