I still have mixed emotions about all this NIL stuff. I think that if there was a mistake made in this case, it was "committing" to UF in the first place. But I don't blame a kid for trying to make as much money as they can. But then again, we don't know all the details. Maybe a collective associated with UF made and offer and then reneged. It sucks that we thought we had him but then didn't, but the effect on my life really isn't too great. The opportunities a better NIL deal gives a kid can make a huge difference in their life. These are teenagers trying to make huge life decisions. I hope for the best for all of them.
I don't. It's a catastrophe. NIL was a ruse devaluing a college education and turning "amateur" sports into pro sports. How many fans here and elsewhere prefer college sports over pro sports? (Hint: Most) If kids are so talented so as to make money playing sports, they should go and do that. Oh, but the sport requires that you be physically/otherwise developed (i.e. maturation) in order to make it in? TOUGH SHIT! Go and get your education, which provides the opportunity. Teachers don't get to just start making $ teaching out of HS. They have to earn their credential through required preparation and valuable experience. Are engineering and law firms hiring kids from high schools? No, and why? Because those jobs require . . . wait for it . . . maturation. Not directing this "get off my lawn" post at ya, APEX. I'm just ranting.
Pretty sure the NiL rules they created pretty much state agents are now allowed. They expect that players have a right for representation to assist them with finding and securing their NIL deals. Isn’t actually working like they anticipated but I believe that is the case.
Frankly, NIL is just the latest thing that moves college sports away from amateurism. It has been happening for a long time. Sadly. if fans would be okay with guys like me making the football team (hey, I was a baller but no way good enough to play college ball) than we can return to amateurism.
NIL is “pay for play”, with fans paying the salaries on top of all the revenue the schools generate from them. It can’t be sustained at UF for very long by the folks who are contributing the big bucks to it.
I'd be happier with your "players should be compensated like students" position if it matched "coaches should be compensated like professors". But they aren't, because the adults were greedy AF, feasting on TV contract money. Players getting greedy only leveled the playing field, IMO. If you told me "you can go back to the old days but only watch games 5 times a year", I think I'd say yes, versus this monstrosity.
You'll get no disagreement from me re: the absurdity of coaches' salaries. That's just another part of the problem and it's reflective of societal values, not to mention other broad-scale issues which I'll leave out in this particular forum.
The salaries of coaches is a little out of hand, but the buy-outs when they can't do the job are insane!
Obviously, what we have is by design by the NCAA. There could have been a series of steps to remove the "amateur" moniker and have something doable. But I think they knew they HAD to have amateurism or else they were obsolete. Once they lost in the courts, they went to Plan B: chaos. They may still become obsolete - they are incompetent but well paid police - but there will be plenty of folks who will hear the siren song of "the good old days". And yes, as long as there are silly, rich folk who will win at all costs, the system was going to be corrupted. And THE first step was to hire corrupt (to the philosophy) head coaches. Academics and growing citizens be damned.
The counterpoint to your argument is that these kids were being artificially restricted from making money that other college students could make. If I am at the UF College of Arts and want to sell paintings on the side to make money no problem. If I am at the UF College of Education and want to charge to tutor kids no problem. Journalism and want to write for the Alligator? No issues. But if I am an athlete and want to sell my own autograph? Ineligible. That is the part that always got me and I get the slippery slope that things have become. I also agree NIL has negatively affected college athletics. That being said, I'm fine for these kids to get theirs while they can.
There are very few examples of the athletes actually doing anything for their NIL money, and that is the problem. If they were selling an autograph I would be all for compensation. Most education majors are not getting the type of support that a scholarship football player receives.
College sports is becoming unmanageable. Colleges get all the revenue and the payment of athletes is now thrust upon the fans Some may argue that has always been the case.
Agree - this is the counterpoint I would share with @bakaduin. Athletes should not be prohibited from having jobs, as long as they can balance work/education/athletics/life. As you note, the education & arts students are not dining at the posh buffet for free like the athletes. They don't receive the same kinds of scholarships and academic support either, for the most part. We all agree, though, that NIL has compromised ncaa athletics.
And perhaps college football shouldn't either. That's the root of the problem: us. The fans. We want the enormous spectacle and we almost-never talk about GPAs or graduation rates. We want bigger-better-more. The facilities arms race? Spend whatever it takes to coddle the prima donnas. Coach goes 6-7 with two years on the contract? Buy the bum out and flush $20M, we deserve the best. "OMG Beth Mowins" (who I actually like) -- how about Beth Nuthin? Take everything back to the scale it was at the end of the 70's.
Ok, so don't give the arts students full tuition, Rm & board + stipend. I bet the athlete's course fees are covered as well. BTW - the athletes are not bringing in hundreds of millions to the school either, the vast majority of revenue goes back to athletics. According to this source, UF athletics has given a little less than 10million/year to UF over the past 16 years. 2021-2022 Executive Budget Summary (PDF) - Florida Gators
