WildcatReport - College football on a slippery slope with NIL
Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald thinks that college football needs to put some "guardrails" around NIL.
northwestern.rivals.com
Story: Fitz discusses NIL
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We’re literally the only country in the world that pimps out young athletes under the guise of “education” and “amateurism” - meanwhile the “academic” institutions make millions off their efforts, and the coaches get rich. (Even “noble” NU “does it the right way” and exploits them to make bank). Every other country sends kids to pro leagues, where they work their way up to the top flight divisions. Our system is one big sham - and this latest NIL ridiculousness is the best thing that could ever happen.
The NFL and NBA were all too happy to farm out player development to the NCAA, and the NCAA loved generating billions. Now the tables have turned and they don’t know what to do, becuase every new NIL deal shows how badly they held athletes back - and what a joke “amateur sports” has always been. Hopefully this leads both pro leagues to create proper minor leagues, leaving NCAA football and basketball to resemble what college baseball and soccer look like now.
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I regret that I have but one like to give to this comment.
"What if, for example, Iamaleava doesn’t turn out to be the player that he is expected to be? Will Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel feel pressure from donors to play him, even if he isn’t ready? If he doesn’t win the starting job?"
No. Of course not. The donors don't give a sh1te if he becomes the next Hunter Johnson. They'll just write another check for the next guy. They want their team to win, that's it. NIL is just a façade so they can bribe the players to go there.
Don't get me wrong, the kids deserve the money. But the current situation is definitely "rich get richer"
No. Of course not. The donors don't give a sh1te if he becomes the next Hunter Johnson. They'll just write another check for the next guy. They want their team to win, that's it. NIL is just a façade so they can bribe the players to go there.
Don't get me wrong, the kids deserve the money. But the current situation is definitely "rich get richer"
My wife’s late Italian-immigrant grandfather once told me, “This is a ball country. Throw the ball. Kick the ball. Hit the ball. Nobody ever does any important work.”
I’ll add that they pay them millions not to do the important work. I’m rapidly losing interest in the whole project.
I’ll add that they pay them millions not to do the important work. I’m rapidly losing interest in the whole project.
Is the NCAA intending to allow this to run unchecked and non regulated? Will courts allow regulation? A quandary only a legislative fix can likely resolve. Good luck with that. Representative Gonzalez, the last Representative to take on this ordeal is resigning.
The Supreme Court ruling (which was unanimous at 9-0 if I recall) basically made it clear that the NCAA cannot limit it. And the language was pretty scathing. Instead of allowing it in some reasonable manner to begin with, the NCAA tried to fully restrict it, so then it got called into question as illegal / anti-competitive, and the Supreme Court smacked it down. So now we are at this place where they can't really do much about it. I suppose a legislative solution is possible, but why would any Congressman / woman want to do anything about it at this stage? Doesn't seem like a fun issue to take on that would win you much support, to go try to take away (or restrict) the ability of college students to make money?
Another Italian, name Arthur Fonzarelli, once said, words to the effect of: "grown men chasing a little ball around". I grow weary of it as well, and now follow only NUFB and MBB. Nothing else.
It's entertainment, nothing more. The difference is that an event can now be made available to tens of millions at a time, meaning tens of millions of dollars have followed
The NCAA has been on the clock to fix it since roughly 1994, which was the first season the NCAA tournament contract had a total value in the billions.
The Supreme Court ruling said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about NIL. It pertained to extra educational expenses paid by the university.
Yeah - we need people to draw ever more attention to the social injustice of giving 18-year-old young adults educations worth tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars, free food and living spaces, free books, and free tutoring to play a game they love while also being able to cherry-pick the best looking girls on campus, revel in the stardom that accompanies college athletes, and receive expert coaching that may prepare the best of them for professional careers, where the money, the women, and the accoutrements are compounded. Yes, of course they also, with some effort on their part, may well receive a college degree. What shameful exploitation. The world is so corrupt. REVOLUTION NOW!!!
(By the way, different states, including Illinois, have enacted rules governing NILs.)
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I assume you are a capitalist. The entire sports industry (from salary caps, the draft, amateurism) is exploitive of athletes. Yes, I many cases they are paid millions, but a true marketplace would value their worth in the tens of millions.
I always wondered what the true market value of lebron James would have been in an open market at his apex. Would a Steve Ballmer paid him $50mm a year? $100mm? We will never know.
As for compensating players with education and lodging, maybe they would prefer actual cash. How much money did Trevor Lawrence generate for Clemson? Way more than room and board.
An aging booster says he likes things the way they have always been. Shocker.
I was just saying this to a former US Rep (R) friend yesterday. The NCAA/NFL/NBA didn’t exploit a market inefficiency - they created it. Then perpetuated it.
(Topic of conversation was how Miami just got the best player in the hoops transfer portal from KSU; he also signed an $800k NIL agreement)
The combination of NIL and the transfer portal together will kill the G5/mid major type programs’ chances of competing with the top 30-40 money schools.
How is this not "unlimited Free Agency"?
Wichita State basically lost its whole basketball team to the portal this week.
Rumor is they all want NIL $$ and Wichita State can't meet their demands.
quote:
Another large domino fell on Friday in what has been a gutting week for the Wichita State men’s basketball team when Craig Porter entered the transfer portal.
It concluded a 48-hour span where the Shockers lost their leading scorer (Tyson Etienne), their budding superstar (Ricky Council IV) and now their starting point guard in Porter. A total of eight scholarship players have entered the NCAA transfer portal since the end of Wichita State’s 15-13 campaign.
Coupled with the early departure of Etienne for professional basketball, WSU only has one player (Kenny Pohto) returning who played last season, losing 92% of its production. Porter’s departure was not a coincidence following Thursday’s news that Council entered the transfer portal, as the Shockers lost their most talented scorer who would have been the go-to player for this upcoming season.
Internally, Wichita State believes it can still retool through the transfer portal. But with only one season of college basketball eligibility remaining, Porter didn’t want to take the chance of playing on a team pulling off a nearly total reload for this upcoming season. After averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists, Porter should be a target for high-level teams in the market for point guard help..
Porter played his best basketball in the final two months of the season, notably scoring 17 points against conference champion Houston in WSU’s double-overtime loss to the Cougars at Koch Arena on Feb. 20.
Porter joins fellow starters in Dexter Dennis, Joe Pleasant and Morris Udeze in the transfer portal, as well as Council, Qua Grant, Monzy Jackson and Chaunce Jenkins.
The only scholarship players who are returning from WSU last season are Kenny Pohto, Jalen Ricks and Isaac
Nowadays, with NIL and the transfer portal, the recruiting process doesn't end until the kid signs a pro contract.
The solid mid majors are the ones that will pay the highest price in this NIL/transfer portal era. College sports are now worse than the pros.
Idea - Make them sign a 2-year deal at minimum?
How is this not "unlimited Free Agency"?
Wichita State basically lost its whole basketball team to the portal this week.
Rumor is they all want NIL $$ and Wichita State can't meet their demands.
quote:
Another large domino fell on Friday in what has been a gutting week for the Wichita State men’s basketball team when Craig Porter entered the transfer portal.
It concluded a 48-hour span where the Shockers lost their leading scorer (Tyson Etienne), their budding superstar (Ricky Council IV) and now their starting point guard in Porter. A total of eight scholarship players have entered the NCAA transfer portal since the end of Wichita State’s 15-13 campaign.
Coupled with the early departure of Etienne for professional basketball, WSU only has one player (Kenny Pohto) returning who played last season, losing 92% of its production. Porter’s departure was not a coincidence following Thursday’s news that Council entered the transfer portal, as the Shockers lost their most talented scorer who would have been the go-to player for this upcoming season.
Internally, Wichita State believes it can still retool through the transfer portal. But with only one season of college basketball eligibility remaining, Porter didn’t want to take the chance of playing on a team pulling off a nearly total reload for this upcoming season. After averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists, Porter should be a target for high-level teams in the market for point guard help..
Porter played his best basketball in the final two months of the season, notably scoring 17 points against conference champion Houston in WSU’s double-overtime loss to the Cougars at Koch Arena on Feb. 20.
Porter joins fellow starters in Dexter Dennis, Joe Pleasant and Morris Udeze in the transfer portal, as well as Council, Qua Grant, Monzy Jackson and Chaunce Jenkins.
The only scholarship players who are returning from WSU last season are Kenny Pohto, Jalen Ricks and Isaac
Nowadays, with NIL and the transfer portal, the recruiting process doesn't end until the kid signs a pro contract.
The solid mid majors are the ones that will pay the highest price in this NIL/transfer portal era. College sports are now worse than the pros.
Idea - Make them sign a 2-year deal at minimum?
He's worse than that. He's a free market capitalist.
But I do agree that college sports have been exploiting student athletes for decades. I think NIL is generally a step in the right direction.
As for the pros, they are generally compensated in line with their value. Guys like LBJ will always make more money from endorsements than from NBA salary (which is now $40M per year for the top guys. That's generational wealth for one season of work if you are not stupid with money).
You should note that players' unions negotiate the contracts with the sports owners, and in general they protect veterans at the expense of rookie/younger players.
LeBron was almost certainly worth more at his peak than he was paid to play basketball, but the cap and maximum salary levels made that an impossibility.
in a competitive free market, economic profits are zero (this, of course, doesn’t exist, but the Buss family makes more from the Lakers than the James family).
Perhaps Brad Underwood should be compensated with books and Twitter endorsements.
He’s a part-time “teacher,” dude. Clearly he deserves an adjunct professor’s salary.
Scholarships for revenue athletes are worthless. If they were poor, they would get aid, if they are rich they can afford it, if they are middle class, they can work at Home Depot for $17/hour and not put life and limb at risk for dear Ole Alma Mater. Scholarships are a scam for revenue athletes
For years I was supportive of athletes making money off of their name, image, and likeness from third party endorsements. That being said - and though the current landscape of buying commitments is not really a surprise for anyone with imagination - that doesn't mean I like it. But I don't know enough about the legal issues to really have a solutions with regards to the guardrails that Fitz talks about. I assume something can be done given that not even the pro sports are free for all's, as other posters have discussed above.
This is a tough issue. As one who has been a big college sports fan my entire life, the changes that are happening are difficult to cope with. The likely dramatic changes to the entire landscape of college sports that are coming are a bit scary to comprehend. I can certainly understand those of you out there who are very upset by all of this. Something that we have known and loved for a long time is probably being taken away from us, or at least radically changed. That is difficult.
That said, the status quo wasn't really fair. College sports has become such a huge business. I won't get overly political here, but that is sorta' the American way - to take something good and monetize the hell out of it. That is what happened to college sports, and soon it became a billion dollar business. The players sacrificing their time and bodies and possible futures to provide this spectacle were simply not getting anything close to an adequate portion of those financial gains. Something had to be done.
So, I find myself on both sides of this debate. I recognize why we have gotten to this point and can't really complain, but at the same time, I still feel the pain and loss that this is causing.
That said, the status quo wasn't really fair. College sports has become such a huge business. I won't get overly political here, but that is sorta' the American way - to take something good and monetize the hell out of it. That is what happened to college sports, and soon it became a billion dollar business. The players sacrificing their time and bodies and possible futures to provide this spectacle were simply not getting anything close to an adequate portion of those financial gains. Something had to be done.
So, I find myself on both sides of this debate. I recognize why we have gotten to this point and can't really complain, but at the same time, I still feel the pain and loss that this is causing.
There are very few practicing capitalists left anymore.
"I'm a capitalist! Yes I support the Federal Reserve buying $trillions in bonds and driving up the stock market. Yes I support enormous bailouts of businesses and industries that should be bankrupt because they couldn't defend against economic downturns."
You can't just change the definition of capitalism as needed.
Every American capitalist believes in capitalist profits and socialized losses.
He who has the gold makes the rules.
(Which has always been the case, whether $200k duffel bags or $50 handshakes or $30 million donor NIL co-ops.)
A) the kids deserve the money
B) THE KIDS DESERVE THE MONEY
C) They are, or will no longer be, student athletes. These are NBA/NFL developmental leagues, subsidized by boosters and fans that are, as Seinfeld put it, rooting for laundry. NU was one of very few FBS bastions of student athletes, but that will go by the wayside
D) Through these new NIL/Portal lenses, we can clearly see what a laughable system this is, with approximately 15000 revenue athletes dragging along this ridiculous economic system which pays for thousands of other athletes, high-cost coaches and administrators, stadiums and other buildings, all in the name of dubious-value scholarships.
E) See A and B
B) THE KIDS DESERVE THE MONEY
C) They are, or will no longer be, student athletes. These are NBA/NFL developmental leagues, subsidized by boosters and fans that are, as Seinfeld put it, rooting for laundry. NU was one of very few FBS bastions of student athletes, but that will go by the wayside
D) Through these new NIL/Portal lenses, we can clearly see what a laughable system this is, with approximately 15000 revenue athletes dragging along this ridiculous economic system which pays for thousands of other athletes, high-cost coaches and administrators, stadiums and other buildings, all in the name of dubious-value scholarships.
E) See A and B
Maybe you should look at college athletics historically and understand how the present situation evolved.
Looking at a snapshot of the present (only?) can lead to oversimplification and misunderstanding.
Well, I'm 60 years old and have been following FB and BB (only) since I was like 10. I'm not into hand-wringing as a general rule, though I do love to complain. Perhaps you disagree, but I believe that the NIL/Portal, while finally getting some of the money to well-deserving revenue athletes, will change the dynamic of the game to the point where it is unrecognizable. Sort of like a greatly expanded version of BBall's "one and done" rule, except, in addition to, say, 50 Bball players that leave for the pros after a year, now we have an annual carousel of FB/BB players, in the thousands, that will deservedly transfer to greener pa$tures.
Feral, these now ARE pro leagues.
Phatcat - You're okay with me. We are in the same generation... The money issues in college athletics have been there for a long time. Should players be compensated for athletics via scholarships? Should they be compensated because winning at sports is good for a school's image / spirit / reputation? Are scholarships enough? Should kids be paid like its a work/study job? Those were all legit issues to me...
We have moved beyond that into professional athletes going to college - colleges acting like minor league teams masquerading as universities. I mean, the University of Phoenix ought to join the SEC and just buy a football team. It is headed that direction.
I don't have any answers... but like others, I think the whole system is in trouble. College is college, the goal is to educate students - you can't turn it into Minor League Baseball, where a first round pick has millions in his bank account and everybody else is nothing - and they are expected to live together and get along... Nor can it be the NFL's or NBA's minor league system, where the pro league is just a parasite.
Yea! The NCAA is for amateurs… who generate billions for coaches and institutions 🙄
If I’m not mistaken, the BTN crews dedicated to covering amateur sports are compensated in tuition and per diem. I hear Robbie Hummel is particularly good at squirreling away some of that per diem through ‘buy one take one’ deals at Olive Garden.
If they're good enough to be paid millions, why aren't they in the NFL or NBA? That's above the "minimum wage" in those leagues.
If they’re not the attraction, why did March Madness generate $1B? Tell you what - let’s replace all the athletes with the students in the engineering departments and see how that goes!
Italians are obsessed with soccer. Talk about chasing a little ball around all day.
Italians of all people should understand that it's valuable to quality of life to have leisure activities that bring excitement and beauty to culture and life beyond the daily imperitive to work work work.
Yeesh.
People sitting around on a freaking college sports message board complaining about sports being popular. Yikes.
Well, it might be because those leagues, together, can only absorb around 300 of the 15000 FBS/NCAA D1 MBB players per year. Doesn't change the dynamic of highly paid coaches/administrators/sports networks/heck even referees making money whilst the real entertainment is the indentured servants on the field.
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