When do season ticket holders exercise their NIL options?

I seriously doubt it because there is a legit pro alternative. If I want to get paid, I'll get paid and coached by the best (professional coaches) and get my ass into the system sooner rather than later. Will the occasional kid take some NIL money and go to college? Probably, but not enough to make any real difference. Either way, the BB system is far more structured and logical, which is why nobody complains about it. Want to get paid? Then go to the minors. Want the college experience? Go to college. Both are perfectly viable means to get to the big show. And that's the difference. There is a choice.

There is no choice in football. And now we have this shitshow. And it's just going to get worse because there are no rules in place and no way to put rules in place, let alone enforce them.

 

The NCAA never wanted there to be a choice. They wanted full control. If the NFL had a developmental league 40-50 years ago, college football would never be as big as it is now. It would look like DIII.

 

Ironic thing is that it isn’t the ncaa or NIL, it’s the obsessive like those of us here and others around the country who will do anything to win and have more money than sense who broke the game.
Because in the end it’s money that broke it, and we are the ones willing to pay it in all its forms.

 

Think about it,

NFL developmental league.
10 -15 teams with 50 guys per team. 500-750 players.

Pull the top 500-750 players out of D1 football and you would have some really bad football being played

 

I doubt that seriously. 90% of college fans are fans due to a direct connection to the school and are primarily fans of the school not the average player. Don't confuse the average fan with the average jock sniffer. College fans aren't there because of your 40 time. They're there because they've always been there, because their father was there and their grandfather too. Because they went to school there, met their best friends there, etc.

College would have survived just fine without the divas who go pro. The play would be just as good or better due to better commitment, players staying longer and getting more reps and coaching. The fans would be just as tied to it. SEC stadiums would still be full (just as they were 50, 60, 70+ years ago). Fan experience would be just as good or better. I would argue that for the real college football fan, the product would be significantly better.

Now, for the casual, non-affiliated fan? Who gives a damn about them (UM fans)?

 

They’ve been squandering opportunity after opportunity to establish leadership, credibility, and control for decades now. By the time it came to controlling NIL they were totally irrelevant. All their own doing

 

You wouldn't get all the top players. Just like baseball, a ton of good ones will choose the college experience. But AGAIN, they would have a CHOICE. Just like Barry Bonds had a choice and chose to go to college.

 

They never had a chance because, due to NFL rules and greed, there is no choice for the player. In every other revenue sport, they have a choice. If a pro option is available, NIL never happens.

But everyone wants to blame the NCAA instead of the real culprit and now we have this.

 

Not if the “NIL” is connected to a university he has yet to even enroll in. Hell, let the High Schools run their own NIL program for the superstars you’re referring to

 

More like 32 teams. One for every team. A real minor league. And I still maintain, it makes no damn difference in the long run. Peyton Manning, Wuerffel, etc. would have still gone to college. They're not taking 700 players every year. A lot of those spots would go to free agents who didn't make other teams, be filled by guys in their 2nd year, etc.

Honestly, given all the injuries, it would probably improve the NFL product too, especially at QB as you would have less pressure to get your young players into the starting lineup ASAP.

 

You make good points but I still stand by that the product we see today in college would not be as good if the NFL has a D league from the beginning.

 

Nobody watches minor league baseball or basketball, I doubt there would be much market for a football developmental league.

I don't think anyone would argue that college football would look different, but Div 3...unlikely.

 

^THIS

 

I get your argument, but baseball and basketball still put a good product out there, and baseball has multiple minor league teams for each system so they can take a ton of players. We still get top guys in college, and the cws is one of the greatest events every year. Pro guys talk about their trips to Omaha forever.

 

And I stand by my assertion that it would be better without those who aren't really committed anyway. Baseball has 5-6 levels of minor leagues and it doesn't hurt that sport. Hell, college is even better now that they've fixed the bats. College still gets plenty of good and even great players. It's all a matter of commitment. They want to be there. They chose to be there. They weren't forced to be there. And even NIL doesn't solve that. They are still and quite literally forced by NFL rules to go to college.

 

Would be awesome if they would create TWO Different leagues. One league for non paid amateurs and a TOTALLY separate league that would be for athletes that would rather give up amateur status and get paid. One could be called the NFL.....

 

This!!

 

I agree, but this isn’t what they wanted, it’s just what they got by sitting on their hands.

 

Since 25% of the team is now exiting of their own accord, maybe when they send out requests to renew season tickets soon, they should reduce prices by 25%, and then maybe another 50% for only winning 50% of our games this year?