I agree there should be a middle ground. I’m. I longer convinced there will be.
And nothing I’ve ever said implies that the old system was great. Just that this new system had brought about even worse results. Change was needed. Now even more change is needed. I’m generally not of the belief that one must burn the village to save it. However we may be approaching that now.
It is entirely normal for people to seek better pay and act in their own interest. This tendency does not always look nice to the employer or group being left but it is the foundation of the most successful civilizations in human history. This is the fundamental economic engine that has allowed the masses to rise above poverty and seek entertainment rather than shelter and calories.
Hate it if you like but no culture has produced a better system. The haters are still enjoying the benefits while complaining bitterly about the system.
The pay of entertainers has always been really weird and not transparently based on fairness or talent. Kylie Jenner was (or is?) a billionaire- with a B. I don’t understand the appeal or how she made so much money. Nothing happening in college sports is weirder than that!
The reason college sports are in such chaos right now is due to the courts determining that the rules for college athletes were illegal. It looks unplanned because it was not planned. The previous rules that functioned for decades violated our laws- according to the judicial rulings.
It will sort itself out and sports may or may not look anything like the old or current system. I could support a new system or be perfectly fine with universities refocusing academics rather than the business of college sports.
I can’t, however, muster outrage at a young adult seeking a better paying job. It would be kind of nice to see the better paying job be in engineering or medicine or something more productive than knocking people down on the field but hey- that is how the cookie crumbles.
So the NIL is what it is. Guess there isn’t more to discuss here without it being pushed into the politics category.
What a fascinating question!
Seriously, this is the very first time I have ever seen the question raised in discussions about NIL. Getting a degree is just not part of the equation.
Sort of a fundamental flaw by not including his name and major.
Absolutely fair. I would quibble on it being worse obviously but to also say I have fallen out of love with college sports in general pre-NIL would also be true. With a kid looking at colleges I have found comfort in the universities who don’t sell athletics in the pitch.
Lol. I always tell my wife “I’d transfer into Vandy or Stanford and grab that top tier degree” of course not sure if they will complete the degree. I do know Diego Pavia’s degree will be Vanderbilt and no NM State. Pure upgrade.
5 years from now it’ll be a very telling stat to see how many portal players graduate vs those who do not.
Makes me wonder if they even track that. Wasn’t it just a few years ago there was some penalty from the NCAA for not graduating a certain percentage of scholarship players? I can’t remember what that was called but it was a big deal for a little while.
Edit to add: Did some digging. It was the APR. You had to achieve a certain score. I guess it was set aside after Covid for a while, but supposedly it has been resurrected. But with the portal I don’t know how the hell they can track anything.
Eh. I’ve heard NIL actually helps grad rates because it will keep people from having to jump in draft early etc etc.
Guess time will tell.