Portal and probably NIL. Permanent damage to college football

[T_Levine]

The question to ask ten years from now, will there be an audience the size that existed in say 2000 for college sports. I say this when there are less than 10 teams that mean anything. Those are the teams the media talks about and the top 1000 players go there either out of hs or via the portal.

if a kid like Joseph somehow saw Greg Newsome differently than the rest of us. Or rashawn slater for that matter. The value of an NU degree as a recruiting tool is dead and buried.

what the AAU did to college basketball I believe is happening to college football. Influencers who have no business giving advice are starting to percolate.

I fear the day when it isn’t worth watching teams like northwestern. Or Ivy League type football will be the masses.

 

[CatManTrue]

what the AAU did to college basketball I believe is happening to college football. Influencers who have no business giving advice are starting to percolate.

Hey, take it easy on corbi! He thought BJo would stay.

But I would agree that the audience for college football is likely shrinking. This could still be a good thing for NU and less importantly NUFB. Keep your head up!

 

[T_Levine]

What Alabama, and I believe you will see at US C at least on offense, is that players will realize it’s OK to be second string. Hence a team like Alabama literally could go 100 players deep that have pro football NFL skills and ability

 

[Rebel II]

The question to ask ten years from now, will there be an audience the size that existed in say 2000 for college sports. I say this when there are less than 10 teams that mean anything. Those are the teams the media talks about and the top 1000 players go there either out of hs or via the portal.

if a kid like Joseph somehow saw Greg Newsome differently than the rest of us. Or rashawn slater for that matter. The value of an NU degree as a recruiting tool is dead and buried.

what the AAU did to college basketball I believe is happening to college football. Influencers who have no business giving advice are starting to percolate.

I fear the day when it isn’t worth watching teams like northwestern. Or Ivy League type football will be the masses.

Agree. The damage is insurmountable.

 

[StreamCat]

I argued to my sons that the expanded playoffs would lead to the eventual fall of college football because the focus would only be on the big boys and other bowls would be devalued. Now the bowls have further been devalued due to great players opting out of them.

I certainly didn’t conceive of the rest. Now NIL gives certain teams a massive advantage in recruiting, High school kids, for God’s sake, are being offered huge NIL cash before even seeing the field. The portals are sucking good players from the schools that developed them to programs that are already rich in talent. I’m afraid we will never see another story like the ‘95 Cats. You know, kids giving unselfishly to the team. Loyalty is dead. Yeah, I know, I’m unrealistic. The new mantra is: It’s all about me.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

The question to ask ten years from now, will there be an audience the size that existed in say 2000 for college sports. I say this when there are less than 10 teams that mean anything. Those are the teams the media talks about and the top 1000 players go there either out of hs or via the portal.

if a kid like Joseph somehow saw Greg Newsome differently than the rest of us. Or rashawn slater for that matter. The value of an NU degree as a recruiting tool is dead and buried.

what the AAU did to college basketball I believe is happening to college football. Influencers who have no business giving advice are starting to percolate.

I fear the day when it isn’t worth watching teams like northwestern. Or Ivy League type football will be the masses.

Yes, the AAU hurt college basketball so badly when it’s *checks notes* more profitable and successful than ever before.

Weird.

 

[NUCat320]

The question to ask ten years from now, will there be an audience the size that existed in say 2000 for college sports. I say this when there are less than 10 teams that mean anything. Those are the teams the media talks about and the top 1000 players go there either out of hs or via the portal.

if a kid like Joseph somehow saw Greg Newsome differently than the rest of us. Or rashawn slater for that matter. The value of an NU degree as a recruiting tool is dead and buried.

what the AAU did to college basketball I believe is happening to college football. Influencers who have no business giving advice are starting to percolate.

I fear the day when it isn’t worth watching teams like northwestern. Or Ivy League type football will be the masses.

It’ll be interesting to follow the Quinn Ewers story. Dude followed the money, didn’t play at all, and has transferred. There’s no guarantee of playing time at his new school, Texas (top tenish QB coming in, and I don’t know who remains) — and there’s a long history of top tier quarterbacks being recruited over or just flopping. There’s a significant chance that Ewers doesn’t see the field at Texas this year either, moves again and, sure, is $1 million richer less taxes, but doesn’t turn into that good of a quarterback.

Sure, he’s got advisors or his parents or whomever handling his business deals, but his most important business should be being one of the top four quarterbacks selected in, like, 2024 or 2025. That’s where the money is, bro.

There’s more legit money to be made today than ever before in college football. Good for the players. But making that money — depending on what schools set up — still requires some effort. And the real real money still comes three or four years later.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Agree. The damage is insurmountable.

Case in point is Hawaii. Their starting quarterback wasn’t even available for their bowl game due to the transfer portal and others have been dropping like flies as well.

 

[Williesfan]

The question to ask ten years from now, will there be an audience the size that existed in say 2000 for college sports. I say this when there are less than 10 teams that mean anything. Those are the teams the media talks about and the top 1000 players go there either out of hs or via the portal.

if a kid like Joseph somehow saw Greg Newsome differently than the rest of us. Or rashawn slater for that matter. The value of an NU degree as a recruiting tool is dead and buried.

what the AAU did to college basketball I believe is happening to college football. Influencers who have no business giving advice are starting to percolate.

I fear the day when it isn’t worth watching teams like northwestern. Or Ivy League type football will be the masses.

In the event this comes to fruition. It would be incumbent for the sports networks to voice their opinion in this matter. I cannot see how today’s landscape is conducive to multiple sports networks.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Lol, people are now saying the sports networks, who have created the state of affairs in college athletics with great (and profitable) abandon need to step in and stop it.

seriously people. Seriously.

 

[KappaKat]

There is and always will be a ruling class!

 

[Dugan15]

In the event this comes to fruition. It would be incumbent for the sports networks to voice their opinion in this matter. I cannot see how today’s landscape is conducive to multiple sports networks.

Respectfully, Willy, this is not a good take.

How about the University Presidents and the students at the universities who choose to play football should be involved in thinking about what the next evolution of college football should look like.

 

[ohiovalleycat]

Some type of reform is needed. With the NIL, you are basically going to have some schools with paid players (quasi-professional teams) playing college football against other schools with legitimately amateur scholar-athlete. As boosters and schools collude to exploit the NIL further, it may get worse - already you see this special $50,000 a year deal for nameless offensive lineman at Texas:

Texas Longhorns linemen are about to make $50,000 a year, the NIL arms race is officially on

A Texas booster group called "The Pancake Factory" is about to blow the doors off the NIL and college football as a whole.

www.golfdigest.com

Texas offensive linemen offered $50,000 annual NIL deal - Sports Illustrated

A number of Longhorn players could cash in next season.

www.si.com

Even the professional level has salary caps and luxury taxes to help with competitive balance. I understand that athletes earn endorsements, but this Texas thing is giving a position on a team an endorsement. If John Doe offensive lineman has a great year and is all-pro in the NFL and attracts money to endorse products, that is one thing. If the Ford Company said it was going to give a $100,000 a year to each nameless offensive lineman for the Detroit Lions for product endorsements, then that would give the Lions a competitive advantage that bypasses the NFL salary cap structure and I am sure the NFL would do something about it. Now maybe it will hit an equilibrium with some of these NIL companies will eventually realize they are wasting money in some of the situations on the collegiate level. But if it is a front by a powerful booster to support the team for non-financial reasons, then it won't matter. Right now, it looks like the end of college football as we know it, at the minimum.

 

[Gladeskat]

Lol, people are now saying the sports networks, who have created the state of affairs in college athletics with great (and profitable) abandon need to step in and stop it.

seriously people. Seriously.

It's kinda like the fossil fuel industry. FFs built a great civilization but with an unfortunate side effect that will eventually destroy that civilization. The FFs are not gonna do anything about it. In fact, they fund the anti-science misinformation campaigns that idiots here buy into.

Seriously.

Money from sports networks is destroying college athletics. NU is not going to fare well against the larger programs in Division 1 sports. NIL and the transfer portal are the beginning of the end. The tipping point if you will. I'm beginning to lose interest in college athletics with these NILs and transfers. That's too bad because I thought Fitz ran a very special program.

 

[CaliforniaCat]

... NIL and the transfer portal are the beginning of the end. The tipping point if you will. I'm beginning to lose interest in college athletics with these NILs and transfers. ...

I agree with you completely. And yet, some of the posters here have been touting just how wonderful NIL is. As well as the direct salaries that some college players are now being paid.

 

[stpaulcat]

I agree with you completely. And yet, some of the posters here have been touting just how wonderful NIL is. As well as the direct salaries that some college players are now being paid.

Isn't a scholarship to Northwestern an indirect salary (or deferred)?

 

[CaliforniaCat]

Isn't a scholarship to Northwestern an indirect salary (or deferred)?

Not really the same thing. A scholarship, which may also include some money for living expenses, is intended to let the student attend the university without having to lay out any money of his own. Essentially to break even.

As I understand it now, some athletes are getting all of that PLUS an extra amount of money above and beyond what they need to attend the school. You can call that whatever you like, but I call it the same thing as a salary.

What would be interesting, however, is not what you or I would call it, but what the IRS would call it. It's hard to believe that that money wouldn't be taxable. The same as a salary.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Not really the same thing. A scholarship, which may also include some money for living expenses, is intended to let the student attend the university without having to lay out any money of his own. Essentially to break even.

As I understand it now, some athletes are getting all of that PLUS an extra amount of money above and beyond what they need to attend the school. You can call that whatever you like, but I call it the same thing as a salary.

What would be interesting, however, is not what you or I would call it, but what the IRS would call it. It's hard to believe that that money wouldn't be taxable. The same as a salary.

The money should be taxable.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

It's kinda like the fossil fuel industry. FFs built a great civilization but with an unfortunate side effect that will eventually destroy that civilization. The FFs are not gonna do anything about it. In fact, they fund the anti-science misinformation campaigns that idiots here buy into.

Seriously.

Money from sports networks is destroying college athletics. NU is not going to fare well against the larger programs in Division 1 sports. NIL and the transfer portal are the beginning of the end. The tipping point if you will. I'm beginning to lose interest in college athletics with these NILs and transfers. That's too bad because I thought Fitz ran a very special program.

Glades I know you strapped in on at NU, but I can tell you it’s a completely different ballgame at some less prestigious schools.

I roll with laughter at the “he is getting a scholarship” argument for some of these guys. It’s like giving me a race car and telling me I am in the Indy 500. I would have no idea what to do with it. Schools push athletes through with sham classes and tutors do the work. They leave with no skills. What is Georgia’s graduation rate for African American players? How much revenue are they bringing in to the schools, conferences and TV Networks? Make it while you can. Is there any data on what these players are making on NIL? I haven’t seen it, but I sure see the Texas OL plenty for all the doomsday folks.

I am not going to dispute the mission of NU or any other college for those of you that lose interest or choose not to watch. That is each persons right, I understand it. However, there have been “dim bulbs” being taken advantage of for decades to play for good ole favorite university. I didn’t see the same outrage then.

Now I will get off your swamp.

 

[Zootcat]

It's kinda like the fossil fuel industry. FFs built a great civilization but with an unfortunate side effect that will eventually destroy that civilization. The FFs are not gonna do anything about it. In fact, they fund the anti-science misinformation campaigns that idiots here buy into.

Seriously.

Money from sports networks is destroying college athletics. NU is not going to fare well against the larger programs in Division 1 sports. NIL and the transfer portal are the beginning of the end. The tipping point if you will. I'm beginning to lose interest in college athletics with these NILs and transfers. That's too bad because I thought Fitz ran a very special program.

Really well said Glades. This has been my concern for some time. Rather than leveling the playing field, I believe it will have the opposite effect. And if that’s true, it’s going to be hard to sustain my and others’ interest in college sports (unless you’re a fan of the programs that benefit).

 

[KappaKat]

Level playing field, everyone can win, money is destroying football, NIL...our Americanism just will not allow us to accept that their is and always has been a ruling class. Money has been a major part of college football since it's early inception. Now it's really big business. Players, for decades, have sought to share in the Profits of the game.

What I still can't believe is that college presidents and Ads selfishly decided not to share their windfalls with the players, opting to take the market approach, the NIL. The results will be a few big winners (players and programs) and the masses fighting each other for a piece of the pie.

 

[corbi296]

Really well said Glades. This has been my concern for some time. Rather than leveling the playing field, I believe it will have the opposite effect. And if that’s true, it’s going to be hard to sustain my and others’ interest in college sports (unless you’re a fan of the programs that benefit).

Don’t you think NU and a few select others will be able to continue positioning themselves as the anomaly, the P5 program where kids who still truly want to hedge their bets can still get an education. If the rest of the P5 football world truly moves even more towards a quasi professional/business type mode of operations, the opportunity for those athletes who also want to get some semblance of an education at those other institutions will be even more limited than it is now. As they benefit from NIL, the pressure and expectation for those kids to prioritize football at the expense of academics will be even more heightened than it is now. For most kids that will be just fine, but for the kids out there who are smart enough to realize that sports are finite and there are no guarantees, an institution like NU should be able to stand out and experience success by continuing to operate as it is.

 

[KappaKat]

Don’t you think NU and a few select others will be able to continue positioning themselves as the anomaly, the P5 program where kids who still truly want to hedge their bets can still get an education. If the rest of the P5 football world truly moves even more towards a quasi professional/business type mode of operations, the opportunity for those athletes who also want to get some semblance of an education at those other institutions will be even more limited than it is now. As they benefit from NIL, the pressure and expectation for those kids to prioritize football at the expense of academics will be even more heightened than it is now. For most kids that will be just fine, but for the kids out there who are smart enough to realize that sports are finite and there are no guarantees, an institution like NU should be able to stand out and experience success by continuing to operate as it is.

NIL is a game for the big programs where football is king. I contend that it will not change much for NU and similar programs. The typical NU recruit will not have to decide between NU education and Bama's million dollar NIL.

 

[NUCat320]

What I still can't believe is that college presidents and Ads selfishly decided not to share their windfalls with the players, opting to take the market approach, the NIL. The results will be a few big winners (players and programs) and the masses fighting each other for a piece of the pie.

This is the correct take.

Our scandals in the past 20 years ago include Wisconsin athletes selling shoes, and OSU athletes getting free tattoos, and future NFL’er AJ Green selling a bowl game jersey. Pocket change.

Introduce stipends, guarantee some long term health insurance, and everything else about the sport (NIL restrictions, one year restriction for transfers) could have been maintained.

But instead the Dabos and the Sabans command ten figures while their players can’t even afford flights home over break, and people realize the corruption of the system.

And so we’re left with high school football players leaving early to collect that sweet sweet OSU cash, and then leaving before taking a snap.

The arc of history bends towards justice. The NCAA was too stupid to realize it.

 

[Zootcat]

Don’t you think NU and a few select others will be able to continue positioning themselves as the anomaly, the P5 program where kids who still truly want to hedge their bets can still get an education. If the rest of the P5 football world truly moves even more towards a quasi professional/business type mode of operations, the opportunity for those athletes who also want to get some semblance of an education at those other institutions will be even more limited than it is now. As they benefit from NIL, the pressure and expectation for those kids to prioritize football at the expense of academics will be even more heightened than it is now. For most kids that will be just fine, but for the kids out there who are smart enough to realize that sports are finite and there are no guarantees, an institution like NU should be able to stand out and experience success by continuing to operate as it is.

I think you make some good points, and this will still be a primary part of NU’s market positioning into the future.

I just think it will get harder to recruit top tier players. We see a number of good academic recruits pick football factories today. Eighteen year olds can convince themselves that they can get a good degree at other institutions than NU and make NIL money in the process. Transfers may feel the same.

I was hoping after last year’s West championship we would move up further in our ability to attract and retain higher-level recruits (not necessarily based on star ratings). But based on NIL and the portal, I think that will be more difficult now.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope NU can somehow turn NIL into either a competitive advantage, or at least neutralize its effect. But I haven’t yet seen how. Maybe some wealthy NU donors will create opportunities, but I’m not convinced that’s our dominant culture like it is at other schools.

 

[Zootcat]

I think you make some good points, and this will still be a primary part of NU’s market positioning into the future.

I just think it will get harder to recruit top tier players. We see a number of good academic recruits pick football factories today. Eighteen year olds can convince themselves that they can get a good degree at other institutions than NU and make NIL money in the process. Transfers may feel the same.

I was hoping after last year’s West championship we would move up further in our ability to attract and retain higher-level recruits (not necessarily based on star ratings). But based on NIL and the portal, I think that will be more difficult now.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope NU can somehow turn NIL into either a competitive advantage, or at least neutralize its effect. But I haven’t yet seen how. Maybe some wealthy NU donors will create opportunities, but I’m not convinced that’s our dominant culture like it is at other schools.

P.S. - I would love to be working on NIL marketing opportunities related to NU. It’ll be a fascinating challenge. I haven’t given up on it at all.

 

[stpaulcat]

I think you make some good points, and this will still be a primary part of NU’s market positioning into the future.

I just think it will get harder to recruit top tier players. We see a number of good academic recruits pick football factories today. Eighteen year olds can convince themselves that they can get a good degree at other institutions than NU and make NIL money in the process. Transfers may feel the same.

I was hoping after last year’s West championship we would move up further in our ability to attract and retain higher-level recruits (not necessarily based on star ratings). But based on NIL and the portal, I think that will be more difficult now.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope NU can somehow turn NIL into either a competitive advantage, or at least neutralize its effect. But I haven’t yet seen how. Maybe some wealthy NU donors will create opportunities, but I’m not convinced that’s our dominant culture like it is at other schools.

NU's alumni base--cash yes, good ole boys not so much.

 

[Zootcat]

NU's alumni base--cash yes, good ole boys not so much.

Right.

 

[T_Levine]

Really well said Glades. This has been my concern for some time. Rather than leveling the playing field, I believe it will have the opposite effect. And if that’s true, it’s going to be hard to sustain my and others’ interest in college sports (unless you’re a fan of the programs that benefit).

Zoot. That was my original intent of the post. No doubt the playing field is less equal and I think for the top end, more stacked teams means more nfl like competition for 18-22 year olds which means more injuries.

 

[StreamCat]

Americanism just will not allow us to accept that their is and always has been a ruling class.

Our ruling class knows the difference between their and there. I apologize in advance. I couldn’t lay off that slow hanging curveball.

 

[corbi296]

I think you make some good points, and this will still be a primary part of NU’s market positioning into the future.

I just think it will get harder to recruit top tier players. We see a number of good academic recruits pick football factories today. Eighteen year olds can convince themselves that they can get a good degree at other institutions than NU and make NIL money in the process. Transfers may feel the same.

I was hoping after last year’s West championship we would move up further in our ability to attract and retain higher-level recruits (not necessarily based on star ratings). But based on NIL and the portal, I think that will be more difficult now.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope NU can somehow turn NIL into either a competitive advantage, or at least neutralize its effect. But I haven’t yet seen how. Maybe some wealthy NU donors will create opportunities, but I’m not convinced that’s our dominant culture like it is at other schools.

I think NIL could make the contrast to NU starker and as a result make NU more appealing to the kids/families who still value the education/college degree. Right now a kid can plausibly believe he can get a good education while playing big time football at OSU and I think to some degree that belief is defensible right now. However, if NIL forces schools like OSU to become even more like minor league football factories for the NFL will that plausible belief still be there? If not, wouldn’t that open up more opportunities for schools like NU who churn out true student/athletes while still playing P5 football?

 

[KappaKat]

Our ruling class knows the difference between their and there. I apologize in advance. I couldn’t lay off that slow hanging curveball.

Oh wow! You really are one of them. Would you please put NU football in the loop?

 

[Figrating]

The portal and NIL surely worsen the existing imbalance in college athletics, but imbalance is a fixture of college athletics and the beneficiaries are very happy with it. The same teams have ruled the competition since they discovered how to do it.

And it used to be even worse. With unlimited scholarships, players who would start at NU preferred to go to, say, duh-OSU and be third string for their college careers. Just before the revolution, the number of scholarships per school was finally limited and that helped a lot. And there lies the key to balance. Teams ranking 1 - 5 lose 10 scholarships the following season. Teams ranking 6 - 10 lose 5 scholarships the following season. All of a sudden, the same teams that have rule the competition can no longer hoard all the top talent!

But someone has to want balance. There should be a whole lot of them because the existing structure is rigged to assure that they will never compete. Like the fossil fuels industry that holds the world's economy in its grip and has no intention of letting it go, so the powers of college athletics will continue to protect the overwhelming advantage of the top teams today.

Time for another revolution. Why is it taking so long?

 

[KappaKat]

The portal and NIL surely worsen the existing imbalance in college athletics, but imbalance is a fixture of college athletics and the beneficiaries are very happy with it. The same teams have ruled the competition since they discovered how to do it.

And it used to be even worse. With unlimited scholarships, players who would start at NU preferred to go to, say, duh-OSU and be third string for their college careers. Just before the revolution, the number of scholarships per school was finally limited and that helped a lot. And there lies the key to balance. Teams ranking 1 - 5 lose 10 scholarships the following season. Teams ranking 6 - 10 lose 5 scholarships the following season. All of a sudden, the same teams that have rule the competition can no longer hoard all the top talent!

But someone has to want balance. There should be a whole lot of them because the existing structure is rigged to assure that they will never compete. Like the fossil fuels industry that holds the world's economy in its grip and has no intention of letting it go, so the powers of college athletics will continue to protect the overwhelming advantage of the top teams today.

Time for another revolution. Why is it taking so long?

Short answer for no resistance to current system: the Vandy and NU of college football have accepted the fact that living off the millions generated by the Bama and OSU, respectively, is far more lucrative than starting some revolution.

 

[CaliforniaCat]

I think NIL could make the contrast to NU starker and as a result make NU more appealing to the kids/families who still value the education/college degree. Right now a kid can plausibly believe he can get a good education while playing big time football at OSU and I think to some degree that belief is defensible right now. However, if NIL forces schools like OSU to become even more like minor league football factories for the NFL will that plausible belief still be there? If not, wouldn’t that open up more opportunities for schools like NU who churn out true student/athletes while still playing P5 football?

Playing P5 football while always ending up at the bottom of the standings year after year is not anything very desirable.

We have been there, done that.

For those of us old enough to have lived through NU's Dark Ages we know exactly what that is like, and it isn't much fun.

 

[StreamCat]

Short answer for no resistance to current system: the Vandy and NU of college football have accepted the fact that living off the millions generated by the Bama and OSU, respectively, is far more lucrative than starting some revolution.

Yep, money is a problem, but you know what else will kill college football? Cynics. They give up before they begin.

 

[corbi296]

Playing P5 football while always ending up at the bottom of the standings year after year is not anything very desirable.

We have been there, done that.

For those of us old enough to have lived through NU's Dark Ages we know exactly what that is like, and it isn't much fun.

What does that have anything to do with what we are talking about? NU is not that kind of program now nor do I foresee it becoming that kind of program anytime soon.

 

[Jaguar 88]

The question to ask ten years from now, will there be an audience the size that existed in say 2000 for college sports. I say this when there are less than 10 teams that mean anything. Those are the teams the media talks about and the top 1000 players go there either out of hs or via the portal.

if a kid like Joseph somehow saw Greg Newsome differently than the rest of us. Or rashawn slater for that matter. The value of an NU degree as a recruiting tool is dead and buried.

what the AAU did to college basketball I believe is happening to college football. Influencers who have no business giving advice are starting to percolate.

I fear the day when it isn’t worth watching teams like northwestern. Or Ivy League type football will be the masses.

If the world economy takes a dump in the near future, people will have to make a readjusting of their priorities and you will see lower attendance across the board with regards to sports entertainment. CFB is corrupted as the $$$$$ is just too much to ignore as corporate America has cornered the market on every aspect of American life. CFB is just way too predictable and with that, any entertainment value is lessened. I am boycotting the title game for sure.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Eighteen year olds can convince themselves that they can get a good degree at other institutions than NU and make NIL money in the process. Transfers may feel the same.

They can certainly get a good degree elsewhere. They are not proscribed from a major in engineering. If they want to go pre-med, they can. I'd take the million dollar NIL and still major in what I want.

 

[CaliforniaCat]

What does that have anything to do with what we are talking about? NU is not that kind of program now nor do I foresee it becoming that kind of program anytime soon.

If you don't see the problem we are going to have in attracting the kind of players in the future that we been able to attract in the recent past, then you have your head buried in the sand. Or perhaps buried in a pile of NIL money.

And just in case you didn't notice our best defensive player just entered the transfer portal. What makes you think we are going to be able attract anymore like him in the future as NIL and direct salaries become a major factor in high school kids' decisions?