Recent Comments

I agree that the numbers out are skewed by the scholarship/walk-on change. Every school had to drop the bottom 10 of their roster or so.

That was hilarious. They were as consistent as can be.

There is a lot of money in Phoenix and ASU football is the only game in town in terms of college. It's easier to get NIL money committed when you win the Big 12 and make the playoffs. It's an easier sell. Unlike Blacksburg, every major business is located in some way shape or form in the valley. Major restaurant parent companies, major banks, major golf companies, major tourist companies. When you win, you can tap those resources. Arizona ran up the score on ASU a coupe years back and were mocking them on the field. Now the tide has turned.

Right, and many guys were also the first in their families to have access to a VT degree, and would not have gotten into the school if not for football. It was the opportunity of a lifetime all things considered and something people take on crimpling debt to do and go to community colleges to gain admission later etc. There is a wait list to get into VT for regular students. That opportunity of a lifetime for many wasn't enough for ballers though.

"Okay, but how many players do you think realistically would make more from NIL than an NFL salary?" in any normal world/business/any other line of work, of course fucking not- answer should be zero. But there are Vandy alumns that view 7 wins as more important than their children and faith, so they pay Pavia- allegedly- more than the Tennesee Titans would pay him- which is a figure close to zero. That is what's fucked up. The market value for amateur football players is higher than professional football players in some cases. Where else in the world do you see that? where do interns get paid more than seasoned pros? where do junior developers get paid more than the CIO? nowhere. But in this world, things are so fucked up that the huge injustice- pay for play- has now gone full circle... you have kids like Arch Manning making more than he would on a rookie NFL deal. The only reason Bronny James left is because his dad got him a contract from the make a wish foundation that he would not have gotten close to from any other NBA team. This bullshit going unchecked will kill college sports.

Seems to me you can get a lot of passive goodness out of this, without raising any animosity at all. You can even look surprised if he even brings it up when you're wearing your VT gear. Even better if you get some NIL merch of one of these players.

Neil Brown- fired last month- beat VT twice. Neil fucking Brown. That's where we are.

1. Lower the age to enter any sports league to 13. If you are Mr. travel baseball and want money, sign with a pro team at age 13. If you are Maurice Clarett and just too good for college, enter the NFL draft at age 13. This throws the whole slavery/unpaid/uncompensated labor bullshit premise out the window. If Gunner Givens or Linn Kidd want money- turn pro after their 13th birthday. 2. If you transfer schools with your coach NOT leaving you must sit a year. Do those 2 things, and most of this gets fixed. VT can perhaps compete again in major sports and actually graduate some players and the Jay Bilas's of the world can't cry fairness when the whole Duke hoops team could just get their money from the NBA.

My personal favorite of the NIL era is the lawsuit against the FSU BB coach from 6 former players saying they have emails and texts from him promising them NIL money (around 250k each) that they never got. So they are SUING him for the money. Not the NIL group, not the school, they are suing the coach.

One of my new directors is a Mountaineer. Gonna need some more goodness out of this whole OL situation so I can shove it down his throat