Recent Comments
Really like the idea of setting up a savings account, and something that would be valuable for everyone would be to add a Freshman orientation type of class dealing with money. This would be something that could benefit the general populace, but also help set these elite athletes up for success and to help them avoid becoming one of those bankruptcy statistics.
Not to shoot your idea down, but the NCAA shouldn't be able to decide when an athlete gets his money. What if an athlete's car breaks down, and he needs money now to fix it? No, you have to wait 3 years? That's not fair...
Let's say you got hired by a company for $40k/year. After 2 years at the company, you became their most valuable asset EVER. They start luring in big time clients by using YOUR name. You become their number 1 selling point. Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and everyone else is writing articles about your work. Your nationally recognized at award shows. You have increase your company's annual revenue by a value some where between 25 and 100 times what they pay you.
You are worth more than what you are paid, however the company will not give you a raise/promotion and will not allow you to pick up another job.
You have the option of leaving this company. You can go work at another company for more money. You can even start your own business and market yourself as you see fit.
Johnny does not have this opportunity. He is prevented from playing at the next level. He is not allowed to seek more money. His earning potential is capped at $40k a year (or w/e his scholarship value is). This is why it is not fair.
That is a fantastic response! Actually made me laugh out loud...
Attrition helps. We have some scholarship spots that opened up due to various things with Nic Acree, Michael Cole and now Beiro. Also Kevin Asante's dismissal from the team as well gives us an opening. I don't believe Abbott was ever on scholarship, but these things create openings. Also don't forget we essentially gained Drew Harris's scholarship back with him going the JUCO route now.
I hear what you're saying and I don't disagree in a vacuum, but playing devil's advocate, that could easily be abused by a booster:
Let's say a high school kid is thinking about going to a school and is a top recruit-under this suggestion, what's to stop a booster from a school saying 'Hey kid, I will give you $50,000 for you to sign this Southern Cal T-shirt for me.....' even before the kid has established their true 'worth' by playing for the school....
I think that an ideal scenario would be that you are required to complete at least one year of eligibility on scholarship before opting out to monetize your 'brand' - I think this would remove a lot of the competitive balance issues in regards to recruiting with money involved.
The other thing to think about: most guys need the exposure of playing time to capitalize on their 'brand'. Before last season began, how many people outside of College Station had heard of Johnny Manziel? Maybe he could have been endorsed by some local car dealership, but would he have garnered national sponsors before the season? I think not. He maximized his earning potential by having an incredible season on the field.
Ah, shoulder for Riley. We do bring in a lot of kickers, there was bound to be attrition there at some point.
OK. True enough and that prep school path seems to have worked for J. McLaughlin. I also see a lot of DJ working out of the position as well.
Dance-off would be hilarious, but both can keep #4. NCAA rules allow for players to have the same number as long as they are never on the field together.
Abbot said it had nothing to do with Journell, who graduates this year anyway. Said he is transferring somewhere close to home, not sure if that means he has some family issues or something.
Bigger, faster, stronger! I think we should consult the Cowboys and install a screen twice it's size!
As a few people have discussed, schools would use money and incentives to bring players in and there are several programs that can't compete. The beauty of NCAA is the uncertainty of each season. College football takes into account recruiting, strength of schedule, cohesiveness of a team that regularly has old players leaving and new players coming in. To allow a player to develop brand rights for money would take away a huge aspect of recruiting and also take the emphasis off the team and onto the player.
For instance: I am a huge Redskins fan, and RG3 fan, but I would like the media to focus more on the team and less on RG3 (thankfully RG3 seems to be able to handle the attention).
Also for those wondering, VT athletics has a reward room for student athletes. If they perform well, receive certain accolades or rewards, if a team wins a conference championship, national championship, etc. they earn points. They can use these points to obtain items like rims for cars, recliner chairs, TV's, game systems, etc. These gifts are paid for by boosters and are used as incentive to play well and compete.
I like the idea of putting money into an account for when the graduate...if there is anything these players need, it is an education on how to live life when they DON'T make the NFL. I had friends in classes with football players who regularly said things like, "I don't care about this test, I am only here to play football." These weren't the words out of LT's mouth, or Exum, or any other player who has a chance out of the NFL...these were the words out of 3rd stringers who may never see themselves playing football after college.
These kids already have big enough ego's and no realistic idea of how to live in the real world....let us not add to that please.
They better be back up in 2 weeks. I'm going to Vegas and plan to put some money on us to #BeatBama
Hoo-hah! Surprise, surprise. I'm still holding out for Nnadi and Walker! Lets hope Stroman can translate his quick feet into some delicious back-pedaling and hip twists! This guy has field corner written all over him.
This is the only way Bama beats aTm this year.
Your #32 jersey? Check that cowboy...MY #32! Just kidding...it's funny how we all associate "our" previous numbers with current players. #32 is such a great RB digit...I choose that as a junior in HS, but to do it again, I'd probably go with whatever single figure was available. My favorite? #3! Which begs an interesting point...what jersey will Ekenam take once uniforms are established? He and JC can't both have #4...think they'll have a dance off to see who wins? My money's at half pint!
While I can't say one way or the other whether boosters pay recruits, when you have boosters donating money to buy new uniforms, that draws recruits. Look at Oregon. Phil Knight pays a lot of money to the school and they get a ridiculously outrageous football facility. Recruits see that and are immediately drawn to the program. The money may or may not go in the hands of the recruits, but the money these boosters throw around is easily seen and pulls interest to their school.
"You have boosters buying recruits..."
This isn't happening now? I'm not naive enough to believe everyone is playing by the rules. If boosters are ponying up dough, a market exists for player's services, it's just not aboveboard. If there are schools playing by the rules (maybe I am naive to believe these exist), then they're at a disadvantage for doing so. If a change like this ever came into reality, I think there would be an arms race at the start, but the market would hopefully regulate itself.
I do agree that the scenario of overpaying for goods to the extreme exists as soon as you give players access to the free market, I just don't think one or two schools will be able to exploit the system for that drastic of a gain. Even if they could, it would change the programs at the top of the pyramid, but not the structure. There already exists a select number of schools that rack in the 5-star players year in, and year out.
Guess what? Life isn't fair. They know what they're getting when they sign up. They're getting a college education, free travel, free exposure for NFL scouts, etc. They can man up and deal with the "raw deal" (which I'd take in a heartbeat, just sayin) they've got for 2-5 years and then make their millions in the NFL.
Yup, shoulder surgeries. Anyone's guess why Abbott is transferring.
Yeah I didn't think it said that either honestly. I could have swore it said there's a student section in both lower and upper and they'll fill the lower level based on a first come first serve basis. Oh well, I'm just glad to still have a student connection on campus so that I could purchase the cheap $30 tickets.
Set it up in a trust fund, or something the kids can't touch until they leave college. If they were smart they'd save that money anyway. But that way they aren't technically being paid while in college but they're still getting the money that their brand is generating. I still think that they're amateur athletes who shouldn't be getting paid while they play, so this idea gets around that issue.
How are they fixing their cars now? I'm sure every single football player isn't being paid, they're getting money from somewhere right now in order to live like college students.