I think it’s great to get the max you can but what has the kid done to think this is in the realm of “deserved?”
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There are very few players that I would truly relish seeing them fall flat on their faces in the NFL as I would Caleb Williams.
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When I saw the Caleb bobbleheads on sale at Dodger Stadium I considered buying one to auction off here or to abuse in some way, but then I realized I’d be putting money in his pocket . Nah!
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Are Caleb’s dad and LaVar Ball friends?
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Hey hey hey. LaVar did the right thing. He forced the Lakers hand and got his kid paid. He is def annoying but that man did what any Dad should do in helping setup their kids in life.
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I understand that the Alabama anti-DEI law clashes with the NCAA.
I was hoping to understand your reasoning regarding the quote below.
“…may have inadvertently made college football (and all Division I NCAA sports) illegal.”
I don’t see that leap, unless you feel that states across the country are going to follow Alabama’s lead and create their own anti-DEI laws. Or, is it ‘as goes the Crimson Tide, so goes D-I college sports’, or…?
All Caleb Williams did was go “0” for 3 against Utah. 
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You are not alone. He manages to keep rubbing me wrong.
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Saying their state leg is making Alabama football out of compliance and no longer allowed to compete in the NCAA.
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If I had a nickel for every time a state legislature did something stupid, I would be living in Four Corners on a 3 million acre wilderness easement.
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Not sure why people are freaking out about what CNS is saying here:
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I’m really old school I guess and believe a full ride with mental health access, tutors on demand etc…was close to being perfect-- and this is coming from a dad who currently has a kid in D1 athletics receiving (a modest amount) NIL. My son’s best friend is a starting athlete at Stanford, and he gets a small NIL payment as well. A reasonable NIL is perfectly fine IMO as these athletes spend large portions of their day working on their sport to represent their school.
Having said that, we don’t live in near poverty conditions where the best way out is through professional sports. For those families just scraping by I’m sure huge NIL deals are literally life changing. Such a difficult maze of issues to get through.
Im curious about what people are freaking out about and what they’re saying? Please expound.
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They are just mad Nick Saban is presenting how he sees the sport. Also, his view on where it will lead. Which is weird because he’s been accurate every year when he does this.
I think the big issue is that they need to be employees already. Make them sign contracts to be part of the university and give the long term health care for if injuries happen etc. not sure how that would work though. Allow endorsement NIL to come through the Sports Marketing partner etc etc.
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The GOAT speaks the obvious truth. I think anyone who really listens has to agree. I hope the right people are listening. “All the things that I believed in for all these years–fifty years of coaching–no longer exist in college athletics.”
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I am not opposed to making them employees, but I don’t see how that would change much. It doesn’t curtail or control NIL. It doesn’t address unlimited transfers. Maybe you could include non-compete agreements in scholarship/employment contracts, but those are becoming very difficult to enforce. IMO, the genie got out of the bottle and it will not be returning.
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This is a really an important idea, IMO.
Regardless of NIL, players are part of the marketing arms of universities. They lay it out for their schools, in ways we regular students didn’t.
Give them long term healthcare. It may slow down the rapid fire transfer problem, reinforce and make good on the bond the school made with that player.
The U can do this because we have a really good healthcare system, but the mercenary relationships are no way for people to treat each other.
Good on Saban.
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Maybe healthcare during playing (which they do?) And care for injuries sustained during playing, but what job gives you healthcare once you leave (i wamt one of those as emeven those that provide this after retrirement are as rare as pensions these days)? And would they come back to University of Utah for care? What about schools without a health system/medical school? This all sounds ok in theory, but the implementation across schools would he a nightmare. More likely is a seperate organization and licensing the school brand and leasing facilities.
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Though I think the idea is good in general, I was thinking about how the U would benefit, in particular. 
This would bring the moms onboard in the recruiting process in a big way.
Unquestionably far more questions than answers.
From a different angle, we’re seeing some curious trends within healthcare.
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post pandemic, with a very tight labor market, both hospital systems and insurers are engaged in brass-knuckles negotiations on new contracts. Both face rising costs, and both have immovable objects in not being able to charge their customers more - employers and insurance companies. (As employees, we went through this at the U, getting threatening mail from our insurer that we may not have UHealth in the network after a certain date. My wife’s employer went through the same thing, insurance threating to cut out her providers.)
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The housing market is becoming a major problem, broadly, and in healthcare. Housing costs are a major impediment to getting fully staffed after the mass retirements of seasoned providers & nurses during Covid. For example, Univ of Colorado Health is building apartments in Steamboat Springs for employees in order to fill 2+ year old open positions. It wouldn’t surprise me if UHealth follows suit.
Basically, there are pressures mounting on top of the existing ongoing healthcare crisis we’ve had in the US for decades, that are leading to pretty aggressive out-of-the-box thinking to find a new sustainable equilibrium.
If D1 athletes’ healthcare were funded via an external fund, a derivative of NIL, that might put more pressure on a system struggling to maintain the old equilibrium, might help lead to a broader overhaul of the funding landscape.
D1 athletes and former athletes know the benefits of staying in shape, taking care of yourself. A major cost problem in healthcare are “lifestyle ailments”. OK, let’s say the former athletes got a 50% reduction on health benefits. That might spur many others to take their health more seriously. Let the ex-athletes become healthy lifestyle advocates.
Obviously, I’m shooting from the hip here, the coffee is kicking in. None of these are concrete, comprehensive well thought out ideas, granted.
We need some (good) disruptive ideas.
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If they are contract employees of the University like the coaches they definitely will slow down unlimited transfers because it can end the transfer and play right away policy. Also, it will end what is happening with illegal contact of players to say they will offer more money. There is a way for it to be written. I’m not a lawyer and don’t pretend to know how but smarter people do. Maybe buyouts of those contracts more so than non-competes.
I think we need Coach Nick Saban to become Commissioner Nick Saban of college football.
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This is what I am thinking about more than anything. Tyrone Prothro was done dirty by Alabama. It took fans to pay his bills from a playing injury:
I also think we need to consider that part of the NIL situation we need to help these kids (yes still kids) learn about investing and managing that money.
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