All this turmoil is frustrating and maybe time for this 30+ yr Gator season ticket holder to cash in on NIL and focus on fishing. Looks like NCAA is trying it’s best to destroy the game. If I wanted to watch pro football, plenty of chances to do that on Sundays.
I'm all for those kids with youtube channels, businesses, and thousands of followers in high school being able to profit on true NIL, but we have now is 100% pay to play, its not NIL!!!!
NCAA is a paper tiger. They’ve lost control. They didn’t wish to create this mess. They fought it and lost.
If they could restrict NIL from recruits and limit it to players already in school and on the field it would at least level some of the crazy a bit. If schools want to buy transfer portal people it will still happen, but darn it bugs the crap out of me seeing high school kids get paid millions and they haven't even stepped on campus yet.
It’s also caused a mess in HS sports wrt Football. That and the covid year has trickled down to lack of recruiting in HS unless you’re a 5*/high 4*. Teams can’t focus on Hs kids and building up a team. It’s sad
That would be illegal. Are you saying a HS player that has lead his team to championships doesn't deserve the recognition and NIL for all his efforts?
Same here. I came close to not renewing this season. Next season, 2 of the 6 games are against (what should be) non-competitive opponents. A Bud Light is $12. One of the main things that bugs me is the place that used to be Orange and Brew in the Union. We used to sometimes leave the blazing hot games and go there to watch and have a beer or two. A couple of seasons ago, they started closing when the game started. Then they stopped showing live games. This season they were completely closed.
It kinda always has been but it’s just bigger stakes and out in the open now. The bad part for some is the facade is gone and they see it for what it really is. The good part is that UF can play the game without the good ol boys turning us in and voting our sec championship away. The portal and how it is structured I think is a big mistake. There’s little stability left but if you look at what’s happening, it’s mostly schools purging themselves of dead weight, most of the portal kids completely lose their schollys. The Covid year has compounded the issue further as there is a full class nationwide that now has to be eliminated. Kids only get one free move without sitting out so I do expect the portal to settle down a bit in the coming years. UF use to honor a four year scholly which may be a recruiting tool for some schools in the future. There’s a ton of moving parts that will shake out over the next few years. The top few hundred or so kids are looking to go pro and the lower ones just want to play football and maybe get an education. The smaller conferences will be playing what some think of as amateur sports which really is how it’s always been. If you want to watch amateur football, watch the teams that never had thoughts of national championships.
They can’t mess with nil but they probably can do something about schollys and perhaps even contracts between schools and athletes. I’m not sure schools want to go there though. Maybe the big boys like it exactly how it is. They still have a free roster basically and can boot the dead weight through the portal and get new players anytime they want.
It’s uncomfortable and weird but a 3-5 year rebuild through recruiting could be circumvented through the portal in 1-2 years.
My other huge problem is taking NIL money, then opting out of a bowl game - can't have it both ways, well I guess they can! I hate the direction college sports has gone, completely devalues the value of college education, and the cost of that education! So many of these kids will end up in the portal with no aid to play anywhere now.
When you have an entire high school football team from freshmen to seniors getting NIL deals, it's gone too far. These kids are like poor people winning the Mega Millions lottery - they can't handle it. Most of these kids won't go pro and then you will see the next phase of NIL - payback. Contract deals that make it seem the player owes something in return and when many of these kids don't make it, they will go broke with payback clauses they didn't know about.
IMO, the NCAA has worn out its welcome a LONG time ago. I think everyone knew there was going to be a disconnect between what is the NCAA - a non-profit - and where revenue sports were heading (major league football especially). The game was to keep it "pure" for as long as they could sell the notion, but the powers that be, the true blue bloods, wanted to get more than what they could. And as a result, NIL finally manifested. I think the NCAA's actions (or inactions) signaled their last gasp attempt to remain a viable entity. They just walked away from their supposed position to be in charge, even though it was ALWAYS the major college presidents (via their ADs) who were in charge. Football needs to come clean, warts and all, and proclaim they are a for-profit, minor league system for the NFL. Yes, we get to boo the "pros" when we don't think we are getting our monies worth, and that is a shame for the naive youngsters who thought they were BMOC. And they WILL get cut. And when this 12-team playoff kicks in, it is likely they won't stand for getting beat up on all sides and will unionize. It isn't pretty but it is real.
The Free For All is not for me. Of course if Florida was on top right now, I probably wouldn't feel the same way. But all this transfer/NIL/portal/Free For All deal is taking away what I loved about college football and installing what I hate about pro football.
And yet it is. USSC basically said it's legal to sign these kids to personal services contracts. There is no way to control that. If the NCAA tries, they'll get sued and lose. There is no putting this genie back in the bottle. PERIOD. Even if you paid them salaries they would still be able to sign "endorsement" contracts on top of that. Honestly, if you want an institution to blame, blame the NFL. They are the richest league in the world and yet the only one I can think of without a minor league of some kind. If you wanted a solution to paying players that kept the old college system alive - or at least similar to what we've all been used to - that was the way to do it. Just like Baseball.
It needs to be true NIL Companies should have the expectation of the NIL turning them a profit Right now it’s pure pay for play
You can expect the baseball system to start changing as well. They will be getting NIL deals and you will see alot more roster movement.