https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/14-year-old-football-star-hire...
Hokies are recruiting this running back that will start at Dematha next season. He has signed with an agent to begin negotiating NIL deals.
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Smh you know the parents/family is pushing this...
They're monetizing their kid. Disgusting.
But only because I haven't figured how to do that successfully. /shrug
You know 100% how to do that. You operate in the real world. So make sure they get an education and make good decisions. Do that, and they will have plenty of money to live on. It's a much much better strategy/bet than the .07% of these kids that make NFL rosters. And the even less % that actually manage their money well and don't have to podcast post career to put food on the table. But of course cash in on the irrational loser fans with no life that will pay this kid money for nothing but Go Big Red.
Yeah, I think I'm doing it right. I've stressed to them that they need to choose a career path that they enjoy, so long as it offers an actual career. Hard to navigate that, though, as what was a solid career path 10 years ago (software engineering) has become so saturated that it's hard to find a job out of college. I will say that I'm greatly pleased that, of the two career paths that my oldest is considering, one of them is biomedical engineering via Tech. If she can get into Tech Engineering, and if she works hard (she does), she'll do fine.
My youngest, well.....there's still time. ;^)
My youngest is 25. And since there is no Videogame Industrial Complex in America that will pay him on potential and magazine ratings alone, he has some work to do long term. As I told my oldest with my new granddaughter- be more (much more) demanding on her than I was on my kids. Fact.
there is no Videogame Industrial Complex... yet
There kind of is .... plenty of kids winning $$$millions and with huge Twitch followings....they have talent though rather than just potential.
yes- twitch doesn't cut checks without real views.
I overdid it the other way...should have encouraged our nerds to have a little more fun. Took our oldest 30 years to find a hobby...but he is really good at it!
Granddaughters are wonderful. Our little redhead just hit 17 months.
Dang how many grandkids do you have that you consider that your eldest's hobby?
I really wish we could tell him to go pound sand. He should be getting nothing while still in HS.
Huh? you weren't entitled to money in 9th grade? damn you chose the wrong career path. This kid is one of 500 D1 RB prospects. He's entitled to his bag at 14 years old. You didn't get the memo.
Gotta admit, bud, your commitment to the Reductio Ad Absurdum argument with respect to NIL entitlement is impressive. Mainly because the whole thing is absurd to begin with. But this comment is outstanding.
Well if its not entitlement its the unicorn that is people lighting their money on fire. You know anyone that does that for fun?
I was damn entitled to the money I was getting in high school. Of course that was from the newspaper route I did before school. Then I walked over to the McDonald's after school and worked for about four hours (Mon-Thursday), then on weekends I worked at a seafood restaurant Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I also had to maintain my College Prep and AP classes.
I have been informed that I also apparently broke every child labor law that existed in the late 80's early 90's.
So hold on... the newspaper didn't catch wind of you potentially being an ace deliverer in 4th grade? and McDonalds didn't pay you just for your appearance at age 7 on the local news doing a hot dog stand? or did they? If you actually worked those jobs, its a job, not an entitlement.
That is what I meant by I was entitled to the money. I worked for it. I recognize that athletes that want to go pro put in hours of effort, but that doesn't entitle them to money until they actually get them a job that pays...
Haha, were there any child labor laws in the late 80s?
I hate everything about this.
Jesus. I noted that the article states he has a 3.5 GPA. I didn't know they kept track of that in MIDDLE SCHOOL.
Gen A recruiting. High rizz, no sus frfr ong.
Had to google ong. Your gen z lingo flex is bussin.
The manipulate that heavily in the B.I.C of course. heavily. This is not your grandfathers GPA. And it could be on a 7 point scale too- not TIC. It's like the magic "reclassifying" lololol. I'm a junior, but because of the BIC, I am magically graduating next month now. lolololololol.
I remember being in elementary school in the 90s and having my parents talking about my "permanent record" and how important my 3rd grade As were
When I went to middle school they did, and 3.6 wasn't anything to be mentioning. My daughter's also have GPAs as they both are... we're middle schoolers 5 hours ago.
To the greater point, a 3.5 in 8th grade isn't exactly exemplary per my experience.
Yeah we had a few "honors" classes that added a point to the regular 4pt scale(i.e. an A + was 5.0), but now they have honors classes PLUS AP classes and even DUAL ED classes(which give both HS and college credit simultaneously) many of which add points to GPA. I was fortunate enough to get on an early track for math and took a second year of calculus in 12th grade. Took the AP test(back then you got no GPA credit so my A there was only a regular 4.0) and ended up getting full credit for the first full year of Engineering calculus classes at VT.
My daughter took dual-ed enough that after graduating she did a single semester of community college then transferred in to VCU as a junior! With the same opportunity, I could've saved 2 years worth of college costs for myself.
Not to mention most kids are at best on a ten point grading scale and a fair number of school divisions have a "no zeroes" policy so yo get 50 points even if you didn't complete something or turned it in days/weeks/months after the due date. Back in the Jurassic period when I was in school, for each day an assignment was late, your max possible grade on the assignment was dropped by one grade (a paper which would have earned an A if turned in on Monday but turned in on Tuesday could receive only a B-STILL not completely like the 'real world" in many cases if it's late you get zero credit. Also the range for grades was 95-100 for an A; 88-94 for B; 81-87 for C; 75-80 for a D; and anything less was an F. So a 74 that was an F in my day would be a mid range C in the world of ten point grading scales.
Oh no, did your kids get pushed back to 5th grade? My condolences. ;^)
1. 50/50 he sucks and can't play dead- no higher than that. Chances are equal he is John Candelas vs. Derrick Henry. 2. I am a patriot and die hard capitalist, but this shit show of late stage capitalism- money is literally the ONLY thing that matters to athletes in 8th grade- fucking sucks. This is all about money. This kids ONLY hat in the ring in life is an NFL pay day- no other options and its treated accordingly.
The kids, agents, and parents are not the stupid ones here. That would be anyone who pays the ask. Cover charges are not stupid, the people who pay them are.
That's the frustration. You aren't wrong, but the fact that people struggle to put food on the table and pay student loans, there exist in society people that will pay millions to athletes that have not proven a thing with the ONLY return being monday bragging rights for beating NC State. BEST case scenario, OSU booster pays 5 million real dollars- 5 million- would set up generations of normal families. What did he get for that? Beating his chest to Michigan fans? being able to wear a natty t shirt? I know these uber rich people have money they wipe their ass with, but you don't get and stay rich wasting money. What is Mehul getting from giving this kid a million dollars to sign with VT for a season? bragging rights at a party with UVA fans? pride? If he is good, hes transfering at first chance. So the price of 7 wins and a smile is over 1 million dollars. I challenge any and everyone on this board to make that make sense on any fucking level. I can tell you for a fact that these businessmen wouldn't give rando employee even a 50K bonus because of company pride. not in a million fucking years.
I have had this conversation with a number of peers over that last 1.5 years. When I made mention that IMHO, the total bust on ROI alone, in time, will bring this absurdity to a screeching halt, they look at me like I'm a total buffoon.
I just don't get it. How can any sane person believe that throwing millions on one college player is a worthy investment?
To DC's point, bragging rights? Really? This whole situation is yet another example that challenges the notion that humans are the advanced species on Earth
I for one wish I had the kind of money where spending a million a year to buy my team a QB was an option. Alas, I work for a living.
I dont understand how ROI comes into play. Do you calculate ROI every time you drink a beer? Or going to the movies? Or ROI when booking a Disney cruise? This isnt an investment, this is spending money on entertainment. For a billionaire buying a QB is probably equivalent to an average American family to go to an MLB game.
Yes. Most of the wise , savvy money folks do.
Unfortunately I do and the Mrs doesn't.
For one, billionaires aren't the only ones forking over large sums of cash on helping build their team's roster in the hope of winning. The "ROI"
Is this....the amount of money being thrown around vs the end results for the folks who are throwing the money around will realize the juice is not worth the squeeze and will understand the return on a high yield savings account is a better option vs continuing to fund NIL for college players that don't materialize.
It isn't possible (short of bribing refs maybe), but imagine if, at the beginning of every game, they had an "offering plate," with magic powers. For every dollar in the offering plate, VT gains an extra yard of total offense, or prevents an extra yard of offense from the other team, or gains a yard on the FG kicker's max range, or some other incremental benefit.
How many fans do you think would put an extra dollar in that offering plate on the way in?
To me, those fans wouldn't be doing it as a "return on investment," but rather a way to make the entertainment better. Like getting a popcorn at the movies - it's not essential, it's not nutritious, it's outrageously expensive for what it costs the movie theater to make - but it does make the movie watching experience better.
These NIL donors don't view the money as an investment - it's just another expense associated with enjoying fandom that they view as being within their entertainment budget. (Whether it's a responsible entertainment budget or not is another matter.) It doesn't matter that the kid may transfer after 4 games - they'll worry about the 2026 roster in 2026. They just want the best experience that they can get right now.
Sorry. VHNW, HNW individuals are not doing this for entertainment purposes. They want to win. They have egos and they want to satisfy them. They didn't become HNW by burning money. NIL is a big money burn. As I look into my crystal ball, I see the masses realizing this and the ridiculously large amount of money we see being thrown today will decrease immensely. I give it 3-4 years. But on the other hand I could be completely wrong.
University Presidents can fix this in one zoom call if they chose. Believe it or not, Alabama Football is not bigger than the University of Alabama- laugh all you want. Virginia Tech basketball is not bigger than virginia tech. The Baller Industrial Complex is given a forum by the University- period. Let Dabo Swinney field a team of independents not under the Clemson banner and not playing in Death Valley. I'm sure they will get uber NIL donations. The presidents can simply say they are limiting entitlement payments in college sports at their schools. Done. That's illegal you say? no its not if Universities refuse to sponsor pro sports as a whole. To my knowledge Johns Hopkins has not been sued or forced to put every bright young mind on the payroll because talent=entitled to money at all times in all instances. I doubt the supreme court would rule that colleges must be pro teams because thats the only league/option- because it's not.
There are truckS (plural) in DE with ROLL TIDE and Red Elephants all over the side of them. And they have never stepped foot in Alabama, or seen Bammer play in person. Meanwhile those that graduated from UofA around here have a t-shirt and a polo shirt. They aren't dedicating every Saturday to driving around for an hour with a flag flying behind the truck then drinking a 12'er of Natty while screaming at the TV.
It's a religion down there in $EC country. Periodt. Why would the presidents stop it when there's that sort of free in-your-face advertising they spent zero dollars or time on. The nightly news is talking about who made the playoffs. All of that. NIL deals. Recruiting. Who killed a tree. Everything. It is bigger because it's been allowed to become bigger.
Are the Dallas Cowboys (Have not wona super bowl in 30 years) Bigger than the NFL? Your logic says yes
Apples to spaghetti, but to your question, I do see truck with stupid blue and grey with stars on the hood, despite them not winning a super bowl in 30 years. They still have fans, sell over a BILLION dollars in merch per year, and have followers. Those fans are tuned in every week just for the Cowboys and couldn't name 3 players on any other team. So, yeah, to their fans, they are bigger than the NFL. But you're convoluting comparisons.
Its literally the exact same comparison.
All the cowboys do is play football. Well, try to.
The university of Alabama has an enrollment of nearly 40,000 students, of which, what, maybe 150 are associated directly with the football team.
Without football, the University would survive. Without the game of football, the Cowboys wouldn't exist. Not the same comparison.
"Without football, the University would survive"- my original point, which you said was wrong
A beer is 7 dollars or less, The movies are 40 bucks. Hell a Disney cruise can be free to as little as 700 bucks. This is apples to bannanas here. And BTW game tickets, jerseys, parking passes aren't free- we already pay good money for no expected ROI other than go hokies. This millions in NIL donations is not comparable in anyway. What other ways do millionaires light money on fire? none.
Millions in NIL money is perfectly comparable to "no expected ROI other than go hokies" (or roll tide, or war eagle, or rocky top, or gig em, or hook em, or whatever)
Yachts, horses, Don perion(sp?), restaurants, going to space, owning golf courses. there are tons of things the rich waste money on. this is really no different than horses, you pay a bunch of money to win and you'll never see that money back.
So the billionaire is taking out a second mortgage to buy a QB?
College sports is dumb.
I think this was the point I began to vomit.
Now rather than having our kids start playing sports for fun, we're going to attempt to monetize them the first time they score a goal or look like they have any promise whatsoever.
Its pathetic and the people that enable and support "NIL" should be universally loathed.
1) as a young boy? He's still a young boy and NIL has only been around what 3 years?
2) These two sound like if they had a girl they'd make sure she knew how to give head in case she meet a rich guy in college and needed to earn her MRS
What they should teach him is 1. He is unlikely to be a great college player. Thousands wash out/don't contribute, etc. and 2. Most importantly- his chances of playing in the NFL are near nil statistically. And making it past 3 years in the NFL will be a miracle. Both of those are real life lessons/coaching. Trying to milk bag from delusional boosters is not a good life strategy.
Especially as a running back.
Or maybe milking the bag early is the best strategy if the odds of getting a bag later are as bad as you say.
Sadly, I think any real modicum of talent will get a college bag (even if it just a scholarship) at the rate things are going. It is rare player that will get the NFL bag.
The statistics of 8th graders making the NFL are out there. It's a very tiny %. How many RBs on VT's current roster- 18-42 year old men are going to play in the NFL? Are their odds greater being in the top minor league already or an 8th grader?
You are making the point for why they should cash in asap since they may not be able to latwr
But profitable, if you know how to do it.
Interesting article about this kid in today's Richmond Times. Well worth the read.
If he's in 8th grade and we are recruiting him then other teams will come along with more money. No chance we land him if he proves as good as his potential through High School.