NIL act passed - NCAA allows athletes to monetise their name, image, likeness

[Big Jim]

I read short sighted posts about NIL and the transfer portal being the end of college football….blah blah blah…whine whine whine.

College football fundamentally started to eat itself with the massive growth in revenues and the capstone begging-of-the-end was the implementation of the playoff system. Gordon Gecko might as well be running the show.

Now that the players are finally, after 120+ years, able to earn money based on their own efforts instead of their school/conference/NCAA taking in all the income we have people finally crying about all the pieces of the sky that have been falling these past 20 years. I’ve never begrudged the coaches making their $millions and I won’t begrudge the players doing it either.

 

[Darth Snow]

I read short sighted posts about NIL and the transfer portal being the end of college football….blah blah blah…whine whine whine.

College football fundamentally started to eat itself with the massive growth in revenues and the capstone begging-of-the-end was the implementation of the playoff system. Gordon Gecko might as well be running the show.

Now that the players are finally, after 120+ years, able to earn money based on their own efforts instead of their school/conference/NCAA taking in all the income we have people finally crying about all the pieces of the sky that have been falling these past 20 years. I’ve never begrudged the coaches making their $millions and I won’t begrudge the players doing it either.

I've definitely begrudged at least a couple coaches

 

[PAC MAN]

I still don’t understand what the big deal is about NIL. Why are old adults scared of young adults making money?

Especially with the young ones paying for the social security checks going to the old adults.

 

[RollTad21]

I still don’t understand what the big deal is about NIL. Why are old adults scared of young adults making money?

I assume it's because recognize their team as a "have not" and NIL just furthers that gap. It's not the players themselves making money they are truly worried about

 

[NW Buff]

I don't think that's the concern. Most everyone on this board supported compensation for athletes in some form.

The concern i see expressed is that this will lead to a further decrease in parity in college sports.

E.g.

Alabama gets 12/13 games in a prime national TV slot -- corporate sponsors are going to favor those players.

Oregon's #1 booster is chairman emeritus of the company most interested in sponsorship of athletes.

My issue with this is that Alabama and Oregon are already dominant. So you’re worried that teams that are already doing really well might do well under the new system? There really isn’t much parity now. The big schools already get all of the top recruits.

 

[hokiehead]

My issue with this is that Alabama and Oregon are already dominant. So you’re worried that teams that are already doing really well might do well under the new system? There really isn’t much parity now. The big schools already get all of the top recruits.

I'm probably being pedantic, but wouldn't brand it as "worried". I think the playoffs have already started the death toll on college football as we know it and suspect the trend is irreversible.

Acknowledging that there is little parity in the sport now, my belief is that this will lead to even less. I think that's what you were getting at. Again, I'm not worried as I'm already resigned that CFB has permanently changed for the worse.

I don't think every team doing well now will continue at a high level under the new system, and I think some teams that haven't been dominant will rise to the top.

top of my head examples to ponder:

• Auburn could be in trouble. They're not in a large media market and have to compete in-state with Alabama. I don't see how their players are going to bring in the same level of NIL sponsorship as Alabama and Georgia.
• I don't really agree that Oregon has been dominant in recent years (one appearance in the CFP era), but I think they're positioned to rise with Nike money.
• I think Notre Dame (one CFP appearance in a outlier season) is positioned to bring in huge NIL sponsors, if they don't let their own decisions to "remain truly amateur" get in the way.
• Wisconsin and Stanford have won a very high percentage of games over the last decade, but I don't see them faring well at all under NIL.
• Given Californian apathy toward college sports, I struggle to imagine why big time NIL money would go to USC.
• lastly, I think Virginia Tech has little hope of being relevant again with NIL. small market overshadowed by big brand names both in conference and geographically proximate OOC schools. Not to suggest that we were trending in the right direction before the ruling.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

My issue with this is that Alabama and Oregon are already dominant. So you’re worried that teams that are already doing really well might do well under the new system? There really isn’t much parity now. The big schools already get all of the top recruits.

Agreed. However, I think there's a real possibility that this eventually gets to the point at blue blood type programs where even the walk ons are getting $$ deals that offset or exceed the cost of school to where instead of 85 scholarship players, they have 110+ "scholarship" caliber players.

 

[NW Buff]

Agreed. However, I think there's a real possibility that this eventually gets to the point at blue blood type programs where even the walk ons are getting $$ deals that offset or exceed the cost of school to where instead of 85 scholarship players, they have 110+ "scholarship" caliber players.

If the 110th player at Alabama, who will never play in a game, has more cachet than your starting players then the problem isn’t NIL

 

[Big Jim]

Agreed. However, I think there's a real possibility that this eventually gets to the point at blue blood type programs where even the walk ons are getting $$ deals that offset or exceed the cost of school to where instead of 85 scholarship players, they have 110+ "scholarship" caliber players.

The net effect of that is that there are a lot more young men getting the opportunity to get a college education and get a good start on the right financial track in life. 110 at Alabama plus 85 at Colorado is 25 more than the old model of 85+85...more players win.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

The net effect of that is that there are a lot more young men getting the opportunity to get a college education and get a good start on the right financial track in life. 110 at Alabama plus 85 at Colorado is 25 more than the old model of 85+85...more players win.

I appreciate that angle, but feel as though we're having two different discussions with two different motivations.

 

[Big Jim]

I appreciate that angle, but feel as though we're having two different discussions with two different motivations.

I agree. The motivation of the schools (fans included) is not in the best interest of the players.

 

[Not Sure]

I really don’t see how this ends well for CU. I don’t have a problem with the athletes earning money, but the way this is being implemented is going to widen the already wide gap between the haves and the have-nots. If we think recruiting is hard now, just wait.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

I agree. The motivation of the schools (fans included) is not in the best interest of the players.

It never has been, which is why college football has been so popular. That popularity will decline over time

 

[NW Buff]

I really don’t see how this ends well for CU. I don’t have a problem with the athletes earning money, but the way this is being implemented is going to widen the already wide gap between the haves and the have-nots. If we think recruiting is hard now, just wait.

Ends well? Seriously, Colorado is completely incompetent in the current system. It’s not like this change is going to make anything substantively worse.

 

[Not Sure]

Ends well? Seriously, Colorado is completely incompetent in the current system. It’s not like this change is going to make anything substantively worse.

Well it sure isn’t going to make it any better.

 

[Bliff Cranch]

I really don’t see how this ends well for CU. I don’t have a problem with the athletes earning money, but the way this is being implemented is going to widen the already wide gap between the haves and the have-nots. If we think recruiting is hard now, just wait.

We won’t have to wait long. The gap you speak of? Going to be light years wide. The talent distribution is going to be logarithmic. And don’t tell me it is already. We haven’t seen anything yet.

 

[Big Jim]

I don’t have a problem with the athletes earning money, but the way this is being implemented is going to widen the already wide gap between the haves and the have-nots.

What changes that have effected college football in the past 20 years have lessened the gap between the haves and the have-nots?

 

[hokiehead]

What changes that have effected college football in the past 20 years have lessened the gap between the haves and the have-nots?

literally, the only thing I can come up with is Bobby Bowden's retirement.

 

[Bliff Cranch]

Can you imagine institutions getting into bidding wars for top recruits? What’s to keep that from happening? What’s to keep the compensation from rivaling that of the the NFL? Nothing.

 

[Big Jim]

I see a lot posts that basically say "I'm all for players getting paid...but...NIL is bad for everyone but the bluebloods". Well, yeah.

There is only one way I see players getting compensated that puts all schools on equal footing. That is for the P5 programs to roll-up into one new entity, scrap the NCAA and conferences, and this new entity distributes all media revenue equally among all member schools AND to collectively bargain with all players so that they become employees of the member schools or of the new entity and all players get paid equally. Ain't gonna happen.

 

[hokiehead]

Can you imagine institutions getting into bidding wars for top recruits? What’s to keep that from happening? What’s to keep the compensation from rivaling that of the the NFL? Nothing.

nothing currently.

the most promising path forward would be the conferences instituting some rules, and none of the P5 conferences are going to do it unilaterally. Best hope may be the Alliance conferences collaborating to institute the same policies, which would quickly drive an even larger wedge between the SEC and everyone else (which may not be a horrible thing).

but I'm not sure what that would look like. I don't think under the SCOTUS ruling that they can cap how much a player receives (someone correct me if that's wrong, please). they can't do a revenue sharing of individual player sponsorship money.

 

[Not Sure]

What changes that have effected college football in the past 20 years have lessened the gap between the haves and the have-nots?

I never said there were any.

 

[NW Buff]

Well it sure isn’t going to make it any better.

Agree but I don’t think it makes sense to deny kids the chance to earn some money because CU football might not return from the depths of suck. That’s not their problem to worry about.

 

[Not Sure]

Agree but I don’t think it makes sense to deny kids the chance to earn some money because CU football might not return from the depths of suck. That’s not their problem to worry about.

I never said anything about denying anybody money.

 

[FM-Buff]

Can you imagine institutions getting into bidding wars for top recruits? What’s to keep that from happening? What’s to keep the compensation from rivaling that of the the NFL? Nothing.

This is already happening. It’s just going to be public now with NIL.

 

[Bliff Cranch]

This is already happening. It’s just going to be public now with NIL.

I’m probably naive, but have recruits truly been landing $1M signing bonuses?

 

[Bliff Cranch]

nothing currently.

the most promising path forward would be the conferences instituting some rules, and none of the P5 conferences are going to do it unilaterally. Best hope may be the Alliance conferences collaborating to institute the same policies, which would quickly drive an even larger wedge between the SEC and everyone else (which may not be a horrible thing).

but I'm not sure what that would look like. I don't think under the SCOTUS ruling that they can cap how much a player receives (someone correct me if that's wrong, please). they can't do a revenue sharing of individual player sponsorship money.

The scenarios can get wild. Kid signs a LOI with a school following a bidding war between the bluest blue-bloods. Say he gets $5M because hey, in Alabama/So Carolina/*****ska/Mississippi college football is their NFL. Then he hates it there or whatever and wants to transfer but legally can’t unless he pays back his bonus but his Britney Spears-like parent spent all of his bonus so he’s screwed. All this while his coach can bail for a higher paying gig any time. Holdouts. Lawsuits. All great fun.

 

[patebuff]

It's the wild rest right now with NIL. No one really knows what is going to become of it.

Companies are just throwing money around to see what sticks. At some point, it'll settle down and NIL will really only affect a small portion of athletes (in the context of large sums of money). I think a lot of what we will see is players getting paid for smaller ventures that really doesn't move the needle and gives most athletes spending money. Players who are signing with blue bloods are already signing there. Alabama isn't going to have 85 scholarship players who are all making six to seven figures. That's pure insanity.

It'll be interesting to see how programs handle these large NIL earners as I have a feeling a lot of them are going to be very difficult to manage. Saban really struggled with this scenario in the NFL because he doesn't have complete control of his players. He's going to lose a lot of that because these kids know they can make money anywhere they go, so dictator Saban (and a lot of the same coaches) will have to evolve as this becomes bigger.

 

[Bliff Cranch]

It's the wild rest right now with NIL. No one really knows what is going to become of it.

Companies are just throwing money around to see what sticks. At some point, it'll settle down and NIL will really only affect a small portion of athletes (in the context of large sums of money). I think a lot of what we will see is players getting paid for smaller ventures that really doesn't move the needle and gives most athletes spending money. Players who are signing with blue bloods are already signing there. Alabama isn't going to have 85 scholarship players who are all making six to seven figures. That's pure insanity.

It'll be interesting to see how programs handle these large NIL earners as I have a feeling a lot of them are going to be very difficult to manage. Saban really struggled with this scenario in the NFL because he doesn't have complete control of his players. He's going to lose a lot of that because these kids know they can make money anywhere they go, so dictator Saban (and a lot of the same coaches) will have to evolve as this becomes bigger.

How about this scenario. Player says, I ain’t signing any LOI with a school. He just walks on where the money’s the best from say, NIKE, Under Armour, Dr Pepper, whomever. No ties at all to the school. Is enrollment in class even important at this point? But you can bet if he’s a 5-star, that school will fall all over him playing there. So the player is a perpetual free-agent, free to do whatever he wants because he’s needed for his talents. Wild West for sure.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

The scenarios can get wild. Kid signs a LOI with a school following a bidding war between the bluest blue-bloods. Say he gets $5M because hey, in Alabama/So Carolina/*****ska/Mississippi college football is their NFL. Then he hates it there or whatever and wants to transfer but legally can’t unless he pays back his bonus but his Britney Spears-like parent spent all of his bonus so he’s screwed. All this while his coach can bail for a higher paying gig any time. Holdouts. Lawsuits. All great fun.

There would be stipulations though, like the player wouldn't get his full bonus until he's there at least X years, or he gets a certain percentage of it per year. It it's a signing bonus with no strings attached and no timeline commitment then the sponsor is out their money but I wouldn't think a company would pay out a big bonus with no strings attached.