It’s not surprising that this happens.
Former University of Alabama coach Nick Saban testified before a Congressional committee last week about the evils of name, image and name money in college athletics. Dartmouth players discussed forming a college players’ association last week.
March Madness begins next week with whispers of a future in which schools will be paid millions of dollars into NIL funds instead of general athletic funds.
This is a new world being created by money, and Sabanis argue that this money is ruining college athletics. But the level of money in college athletics hasn’t changed. What has changed is that the millions of dollars that are being spent on schools are now being funneled into places that have not been done openly before.
athletes.
The Florida Atlantic University quarterback earns about $125,000 in name, image and recognition, officials said.
Another person said the University of Miami is paying its new quarterback “a little over 10 times that amount.”
Are you uncomfortable reading these salaries? To see the chaos that floods the transfer portal every year? Or would he move nationally if he could make $400,000 a year like Miami point guard Nigel Pack or Hurricanes new quarterback Cam Ward, who makes seven figures?
That’s not all they get in this new world. If you believe in capitalist competition, that’s the value of their talent.
Some are angry that their fun is getting in the way of players leaving their favorite teams through the transfer portal and going elsewhere for money. Others like to believe in the illusion that amateur student-athletes still exist in college. They pretended that money didn’t matter at all in the game. Santa Claus was also real.
As one college coach told me, the new reality is: “All that money that was paid under the table? It’s on the table now.”
Previously, the money was publicly spent on coaches, weight rooms and scholarship donations. Now, players are winning prize money and schools are scrambling to compete on the business side. Miami Athletic Department officials are struggling with the financial woes of ousted sugar daddy John Lewis, with a model giving the school’s players $5 million a year scrapped due to Lewis’ management problems. .
“We need to acquire other people like him,” the source said.
The NCAA said in December that it had agreed that athletes would be compensated, which remains a key part of the case. The courts opened up this new world. The train was passing the NCAA at 110 miles per hour when it stamped an unrelated stamp of approval.
“Whoever wants to pay, the more money they raise, the more money they get to acquire more players, the better chance they have to win,” Saban said of the New World. He spoke with sadness.
Hasn’t it been like that for years? Isn’t that why the conference situation has changed? Why is Florida suing to leave the ACC? Why did Saban win every national title at Alabama?
What this really matters is who controls the money and who gets it.
“It creates a caste system where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer,” Saban said. ”
Yes, change is coming. No, not everything is ideal. Nor is it the old world where double-digit millionaire coaches control everything. If your child’s scholarship is an annual contract. If a player doesn’t make any money selling his jersey, but it’s treated as an example of getting a free meal from a booster.
Shouldn’t athletes be free to decide how important money is to attending school? Like at work?
Caitlin Clark is perhaps the most historic example of why players deserve something. Her Iowa State basketball team has set attendance records at every venue she plays. Iowa State’s loss to LSU in last year’s NCAA championship game drew 10 million viewers, compared to an average of 1 million for the WNBA Finals series.
The Old World would not pay Clark. The new world allows deals with Nike, Gatorade, State Farm, Bose, H&R Block, Panini, and Goldman Sachs.
If, as Saban points out, this removes innocence, it also removes the uncontrollable shadow economy of college athletics. The early-season college basketball tournament offered schools the option of contributing $1 million to the general athletic fund or NIL fund. There is another problem. Departments from the same school are competing with each other for dollars.
Dartmouth players took the next step in this new world by talking about a players’ association. That will help players and agents with money and how to navigate this new world. Isn’t that what a university should be like? education?
Any college union will realize what every professional union has done. The best way to increase your salary is to advertise your salary. All the talk about spending money wisely among professional teams will trickle down to college teams as the curtain is lifted.
The bottom line is that money isn’t the issue here. The money was always there. The reality is that college athletes are making money. And there are a lot of them.
