TheColonyEagle

What do you base this on?

I agree with removing the age restrictions. Just do it. You want to get paid? enter the draft. take your chances. However...you couldn't fill a starting offense and defense with enough players out of the thousands that play college football that could actually go pro at 18. But hey...let them choose. This law will effect less than 1% of college football players and yet will have a profound impact on the entire sport

Look, I get the cynicism, but I think you would agree that the current rules DO discourage most from doing things dirty...

Is there now a market for agents for high school seniors? Now they can go out and negotiate deals for their likeness...

So what's to stop a #1 recruit's dad from shopping around to different boosters? "Hey USC Booster, whatcha got? you'll pay my son $10k a month for a monthly autograph session? OK cool, I'll get back to you." "Hey UCLA Booster, I got a $10k offer....what do you think? Oh, $20k? ok let me get back to you." Maybe that's not a big deal?

I remember when the company I worked for went "open concept." All managers went from their offices to cubes. In the meetings leading up to the change, some managers raised concerns. The people that were telling all the managers how great this would be were the VPs.....who kept offices. That's what these conference and NCAA executives are like. There's not a single decent leader in this group.

9. Venmo/GoFundMe Not everyone is going to get a deal. But every player should set up an account in case they are thrust into unexpected stardom. The anonymous special teamer who blocks a critical punt or a backup point guard that hits a game-winning free throw? Drunk alumni might fill up his GoFundMe in celebration. Same for the wrestler who wins a national title or the cross-country runner who ends up an All-American. As much as the new era is about big donors and big money, the biggest contribution might come from small donors.

That's fine.... But the bucks will soon become NOT harmless.... I don't know how to get around it though. I'm thinking of 10 different ways a rich booster can exploit that example. It looks as though he chose to forgo his college football career and instead make money with You Tube. Seems like he made a choice that was best for him. What's wrong with that? Make money or go to college....college students make that choice all the time. Why does he HAVE to be able to have his cake and eat it too? Sometimes you have to sacrifice something.

SMU will LOVE it

Funny....

To emphasize this point: the new law DOES require the school to keep them on scholarship. Why?

One thing to keep in mind. College Football has no competition. You have 2 choices: play college football or don't play college football. If you think full ride college athletes live harder than the average, working, non full ride student....then I don't know what to tell you. Every student that works while they're in college.....works for some entity that is really rich. All of these entities make money off of the cheaply paid college student. If I work in retail in college and I have an exceptional skill....the company that employs me is going to make more money off of me even though I get paid the same. Why are athletes any different? Again...I don't have a problem with them selling autographs. That's fine. It's going to damage college athletics as a whole but so be it. One thing will make all this moot: remove the restriction for entering the NFL. Allow 18 year olds to enter the draft. It's done. True free market choice.

That's fine....but I notice that we don't have a problem with keeping the rules that protect the "student" athlete. The law still requires the university to give the athlete a scholarship. I don't have a problem with them making endorsement money. That's fine. Seems we want it both ways though. If we want to really be "fair market"....we should be putting Rico Bussey on workers comp this year and only give him a 40% scholarship for this year since he's not producing for the university. But we don't. He's protected and gets all tuition, room, board and books paid for. The fraternity guy is still going to graduate with $120K in student debt. I hope he is REALLY good at promoting the bar on twitter.... As for your band example, Is their ONE student that is making endorsement money off of Guitar Center? If there is I'll stand corrected....for that matter, some genius on academic scholarship can get an endorsement for winning a chess championship right? But you're talking about a handful of extreme hypotheticals vs thousands of student athletes. If we're going to take the universities out of the equation...let's take them out of the equation. No more athletic scholarships. Open bidding. Get enough endorsement money to pay for your tuition, room, board and books. More power to you. Don't want to pay tuition? I guess....go to the XFL? Arena League? Lobby the NFL to allow 18 year olds to enter the draft. You know what's NOT 1930s football? The nutrition programs and strength programs and facilities paid for by the universities that get 190 lb 18 year olds to 220 lb 21 year olds ready to play in the NFL. Maybe an 18 year old should hire a trainer and work out for 3 years and then enter the draft? No one says you can't do that I don't think...

Just thinking out loud... If I'm Smiling Joe from Smiling Joe's Car Dealership and I LOVE UCLA Football, and I offer a nice fat deal for the top recruit in the country....can I require the player doesn't leave the University early in order to get paid? I'll pay you $100k to put your pic on my billboard but you have to stay for 4 years. Maybe the player is the #1 draft pick so he breaks the contract and just pays the $100k back? That's what I would do if I were Smiling Joe.

So pay them. But why give them a scholarship, room and board and books? Pay them $15 an hour for every hour they work for the school. The students that work at Starbucks and Chickfila get paid an hourly wage and work for multi billion corporations. Why should football players be any different? I say allow them to work extra in the summer. Allow them to sell their picture and jersey for money. But since the education doesn't matter, they can get a loan and pay tuition, their rent and buy their groceries like every other student. Like other students that work on campus. They're not going to make enough money to offset all that but maybe be careful what you wish for. Do they still have to take classes and be a student? Why don't we just hire football players like we hire other university employees? If they get hurt or play poorly...fire them. That's what they do to Janitors and Professors? that's what they do to the kids that work in the union. Why is no one up in arms about the students working for other companies on campus that "make billions off of exploiting students"

Can you imagine the bidding wars... School 1: "#1 recruit, we know someone with a dealership that will pay you $20K a month for your picture" School 2: "#1 recruit, we know someone with a dealership that will pay you $30K a month for your picture" School 1: "35K" School 2: "$40k" So what happens if the kid gets hurt. They'll get dumped. Then the "mean ole" company that dumps the poor kid will be in trouble I guess? All this is going to happen. Would the 20-30 richest schools just break off and form their own league already...

That was sort of my point. While the school is making money on the likeness of these elite athletes...the elite athletes are getting free marketing too which helps their draft prospects. They don't have to hire an agent (yet) because the university is their agent. And don't forget the facilities that the athlete is using to get bigger, stronger faster to again...help their draft prospects.

This is what they want to do with EVERY corporation......not just the NCAA

What if schools just stopped giving athletic scholarships? Pay them the hourly rate that most college students get while working like most college kids do. You work over 40 hours, you get overtime. But if you don't get an academic scholarship...you don't get your school paid for. I can't believe how much people trivialize the value of the scholarship. Most kids graduate with crushing debt. Scholarship athletes don't. So take it away but remove the barriers to work more. Let them work during the summer....also anytime you're doing a team required activity, "punch in." We'll pay you for football but you pay for tuition and room and board, etc. How would they like that? They would come out WAY behind. (Like most college students) As for switching companies, the "company" is college football. The different schools are the "departments." So your choice is either play college football or don't. If playing college football is such a horrible experience for the athletes that are getting their school paid for....quit. Pay for you own school and go work somewhere. (like most college students do). Guess what...the company you go work for after school is gonna make a lot more money than you do. Don't like it? Yes you can leave. Then go to another company....they're going to make more than you too. This is not about helping the poor starving student athlete....this is about someone else is making more and people hate it. Better for everyone to have less money than anyone to have more. If the school didn't use Mason Fine's likeness as much as it does....he probably wouldn't be getting as much NFL Draft attention. Just like any other star athlete. It's not like star athletes don't get anything out of it. The schools are providing marketing for them as well at their expense.

Keep going...I've almost got a bet won

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