Hyatt opts out of Orange bowl - headed to NFL

[Delmar]

Then just skip the whole college route. The NFL should just build farm teams like baseball does and let the kids develop that way. Why waste time with college and all that goes with it. I mean really what's the point? According to many here, we fans are simply an annoyance and have zero bearing on anything. And that makes me wonder why after each and every game CJH thanks the fans for their support etc and so on. I mean if in the grand scheme of things fans are irrelevant why waste the time and money?

With NIL and the transfer portal, college football is now nothing more than an NFL farm system. Even more than it used to be. The only effect fans could have is to stop buying tickets and merchandise, stop watching on TV and stop contributing money. But you know that ain’t happening. If you keep buying the product as presented, they’ll just take your money and they couldn’t give a rat’s rear end about what the regular fan thinks.

 

[GAVol]

With NIL and the transfer portal, college football is now nothing more than an NFL farm system. Even more than it used to be. The only effect fans could have is to stop buying tickets and merchandise, stop watching on TV and stop contributing money. But you know that ain’t happening. If you keep buying the product as presented, they’ll just take your money and they couldn’t give a rat’s rear end about what the regular fan thinks.

If fans keep spending money, doesn't that tell "them" exactly what the regular fan thinks?

 

[NCFisher]

With NIL and the transfer portal, college football is now nothing more than an NFL farm system. Even more than it used to be. The only effect fans could have is to stop buying tickets and merchandise, stop watching on TV and stop contributing money. But you know that ain’t happening. If you keep buying the product as presented, they’ll just take your money and they couldn’t give a rat’s rear end about what the regular fan thinks.

NIL simply allows acknowledges the freedom to earn an income with their skills, same as any other American. The portal just means players don't have to stay under the thumb of a school/coach buried under the depth chart or in a system not suited to them. The NIL/portal end the leash around players necks that schools and coaches didn't have around theirs. It didn't change the farm system at all, but changed the choices players now have.

That's not a worthy cause for boycott.

 

[Delmar]

If fans keep spending money, doesn't that tell "them" exactly what the regular fan thinks?

Sure it does. A lot of fans are evidently happy with the way it is and that’s why it will stay the way it is. Otherwise the model would change. I was just pointing out that cutting off the money is the only way fans can affect anything.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

Then just skip the whole college route. The NFL should just build farm teams like baseball does and let the kids develop that way. Why waste time with college and all that goes with it. I mean really what's the point? According to many here, we fans are simply an annoyance and have zero bearing on anything. And that makes me wonder why after each and every game CJH thanks the fans for their support etc and so on. I mean if in the grand scheme of things fans are irrelevant why waste the time and money?

Generally speaking, in my opinion, college football fans are among the most spoiled and entitled group in all of sports. College football fans in the south, even moreso.

The point, up until recently, was schools and TV networks raking in billions of dollars on the backs of athletes who didn’t have an opportunity to partake in that windfall.

Now those athletes can get paid while in school, and they have flexibility to make decisions in their best interest. And some fans don’t like it.

The NFL has ZERO incentive to create a farm league when one already exists…just because some entitled fans got caught up in their feelings when elite talents like a Kyle Pitts or Jalin Hyatt opt out of a bowl game.

Fans aren’t nearly as important as they used to be. Every game is televised…every single game is televised.

Every…single…game…is on television.

Schools are making money regardless.

That $50 in concessions you spend at the game is a rounding error. The annual cost of Jalin Hyatt’s scholarship was paid for after the second TV timeout of UT’s season opener.

Until that business model changes, prepare to be disappointed again if Nico opts out of a bowl game in three years.

You can ask as many rhetorical questions as you like, but the game isn’t changing anytime soon.

 

[Delmar]

NIL simply allows acknowledges the freedom to earn an income with their skills, same as any other American. The portal just means players don't have to stay under the thumb of a school/coach buried under the depth chart or in a system not suited to them. The NIL/portal end the leash around players necks that schools and coaches didn't have around theirs. It didn't change the farm system at all, but changed the choices players now have.

That's not a worthy cause for boycott.

Didn’t say it was. Just pointing out that cutting off the money supply is the only way the school listens to fans. If folks keep spending money on the product (and I have no doubt they will), the schools will happily accept it and keep on doing what they do. As far as NIL and the transfer portal go, let’s just say there’s a lot more free agency and less loyalty than there used to be. That’s sort of like the NFL, isn’t it?

 

[SoFloVFL]

So punish elite kids if they skip bowl games for the NFL combine/draft…because Jimmy Joe from Ooltewah really wants Jalin Hyatt to help UT beat Clemson.

There’s no comparison between a guaranteed NFL signing bonus and whatever additional NIL financial consideration a college student gets for playing in a bowl game.

Can you read? It isn't isn't punishing as you are not taking a single thing away from them that they would have earned if they decide to opt out. It's a bonus that they would be able to choose to take or not. I'm not mad at Hyatt in the slightest. He needs to do what is best for him. If anything, it puts more options on the table for the ones who are up in the air about the decision.

 

[87&91ALUM]

I have no problem with Hyatt’s decision. Thanks for the memories. Help us recruit your replacement.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

If you can't see the difference between leaving your team during the regular season while still playing conference games and enrolled in the University on scholarship Vs. choosing not to play in a post-season Bowl Game that occurs after the school year has ended and you've already made the decision to leave school to pursue a professional career, then I doubt anyone will ever be able to explain it to you in a way that you can understand.

Wilco, we have people here who simply do not want to see the difference between leaving your team during the regular season while still playing conference games and enrolled in the University on scholarship Vs. choosing not to play in a post-season Bowl Game that occurs after the school year has ended, and you've already made the decision to leave school to pursue a professional career. Either that, or they are incapable of doing so. Which may be symptomatic of self-centeredness, bias, or a cognitive deficiency.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

Can you read? It isn't isn't punishing as you are not taking a single thing away from them that they would have earned if they decide to opt out. It's a bonus that they would be able to choose to take or not. I'm not mad at Hyatt in the slightest. He needs to do what is best for him. If anything, it puts more options on the table for the ones who are up in the air about the decision.

Yes I can read…so much so that I noticed you edited your post to ask that particular question.

Unless that NIL “bonus” eclipses the NFL signing bonus based on projected draft status, I’d advise any draft eligible player to skip a bowl game, unless it’s the CFP.

 

[NCFisher]

Didn’t say it was. Just pointing out that cutting off the money supply is the only way the school listens to fans. If folks keep spending money on the product (and I have no doubt they will), the schools will happily accept it and keep on doing what they do. As far as NIL and the transfer portal go, let’s just say there’s a lot more free agency and less loyalty than there used to be. That’s sort of like the NFL, isn’t it?

Sure, understood, but pointing out that:
NIL is a legal construct which simply acknowledges a person has a right to earn income; it's not boycottable and would be nonsensical for fans to do so since neither the school or NCAA can do anything about it.

The portal is an NCAA construct which rights the wrong of holding players hostage. I suspect if NCAA or schools attempted to renege, that would meet and lose a legal challenge. Overwhelmingly, NCAA colleges are government institutions. How is it remotely constitutional for government - or private entities for that matter - to keep non-incarcerated persons where they do not wish to be? I think fans boycotting would be cutting off their own nose. The genie is out.

I think there's virtually nothing - legally sustainable - the NCAA or colleges can do about NIL or the portal. And that's a good thing, changing an unfair - unconstitutional - system we had become accustomed to.

 

[SoFloVFL]

Once again, NIL deals cannot be "pay to play" in a game or even for a specific school. That's because a paying someone to play makes them professional athletes and the NCAA remains an amateur league.

It's odd that this keeps coming up. "Let's pay them to play in the bowl game, that will work!" It can't unless you want the NCAA to disappear.

I didn't say it was within the current rules. I said I would like to see it. And in response I'd like to propose this change to current rules:

How about there is a 10 day window between conference championships and the start of bowl season that would give athletes the ability to officially declare for the draft. Upon declaring, you are eligible for said bonuses.....

If you think the current rules are going to remain the same forever, you are fooling yourself.

 

[FLSTF-VOL]

Generally speaking, in my opinion, college football fans are among the most spoiled and entitled group in all of sports. College football fans in the south, even moreso.

The point, up until recently, was schools and TV networks raking in billions of dollars on the backs of athletes who didn’t have an opportunity to partake in that windfall.

Now those athletes can get paid while in school, and they have flexibility to make decisions in their best interest. And some fans don’t like it.

The NFL has ZERO incentive to create a farm league when one already exists…just because some entitled fans got caught up in their feelings when elite talents like a Kyle Pitts or Jalin Hyatt opt out of a bowl game.

Fans aren’t nearly as important as they used to be. Every game is televised…every single game is televised.

Every…single…game…is on television.

Schools are making money regardless.

That $50 in concessions you spend at the game is a rounding error. The annual cost of Jalin Hyatt’s scholarship was paid for after the second TV timeout of UT’s season opener.

Until that business model changes, prepare to be disappointed again if Nico opts out of a bowl game in three years.

You can ask as many rhetorical questions as you like, but the game isn’t changing anytime soon.

No doubt. Exactly why the game is really nothing more than entertainment at a particular point in time. Maybe the expanded playoff will create more excitement etc. Otherwise, what's the point? You guys have converted me. Being a fan should be a casual occasion and is probably a very bad investment. It's time the older generation stepped back and let the new-age casual fan take over. It's gonna happen regardless. I'm 58 so I guess I'm considered old now, but hey I can take the money that I usually donate and do a little work around our house in Fla.

 

[SoFloVFL]

Yes I can read…so much so that I noticed you edited your post to ask that particular question.

Unless that NIL “bonus” eclipses the NFL signing bonus based on projected draft status, I’d advise any draft eligible player to skip a bowl game, unless it’s the CFP.

You are missing the point entirely.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

I'm smart enough to know I can be stupid about some things, or even a lot of things. So correct me if I'm wrong. It's my understanding that even for late last round draft picks, and undrafted free agents, the bonus for just signing a contract trumps the amount of NIL money most players receive.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I didn't say it was within the current rules. I said I would like to see it. And in response I'd like to propose this change to current rules:

How about there is a 10 day window between conference championships and the start of bowl season that would give athletes the ability to officially declare for the draft. Upon declaring, you are eligible for said bonuses.....

If you think the current rules are going to remain the same forever, you are fooling yourself.

No. The next lawsuit will declare players employees of the school. The last one (that led to the NCAA allowing NIL) almost did.

The rules will REALLY change for "college" athletes at that point.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

I'm smart enough to know I can be stupid about some things, or even a lot of things. So correct me if I'm wrong. It's my understanding that even for late last round draft picks, and undrafted free agents, the bonus for just signing a contract trumps the amount of NIL money most players receive.

This was my understanding as well, which would mean an elite talent like Hyatt would be punished financially for choosing an NIL “bonus” over an NFL signing bonus.

I was accused of missing the point.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I'm smart enough to know I can be stupid about some things, or even a lot of things. So correct me if I'm wrong. It's my understanding that even for late last round draft picks, and undrafted free agents, the bonus for just signing a contract trumps the amount of NIL money most players receive.

NFL minimum is just a whisper over $700,000 and it'll rise again.

Spyre and others do not want to get in a bidding war with the NFL.

 

[volfanhill]

Then just skip the whole college route. The NFL should just build farm teams like baseball does and let the kids develop that way. Why waste time with college and all that goes with it. I mean really what's the point? According to many here, we fans are simply an annoyance and have zero bearing on anything. And that makes me wonder why after each and every game CJH thanks the fans for their support etc and so on. I mean if in the grand scheme of things fans are irrelevant why waste the time and money?

You are an annoyance. Most are ok

 

[VolsSportsFan]

It’s a far different world now in a lot of areas versus what it was 20 years ago. A lot more of “I want mine and I want it now.” People far more selfish and less willing to compromise. I’ve come to accept that’s just the way it is.

As far a college sports go, I know that most players now don’t sign because of school loyalty. They go where there’s the best opportunity for improvement to try to go pro. If successful, they are going to protect their interests before anyone or anything else. That’s why it’s 50/50 on “caring” about a bowl game. Excluding the playoffs, a bowl is an exhibition and a fun trip for the players and fans that go. But it really doesn’t do any good to get all that concerned about the result especially if both teams are depleted. I’ll watch with interest but I ain’t going to get bent out of shape like I used to. And I ain’t getting bent if players decide to opt out or stay. It’s their choice not mine. Keep in mind that I’ve got over 50 years invested in watching the Vols. But I’ve come to realize this is just a business on every front. The business doesn’t care about my opinion so I don’t feel the need to be that heavily invested anymore.

ROFL.

The same s*** was said 20 years ago. And 20 years before that. And 20 years before that.

Remember, the current situation is always the worst one ever.

 

[volfanhill]

No. The next lawsuit will declare players employees of the school. The last one (that led to the NCAA allowing NIL) almost did.

The rules will REALLY change for "college" athletes at that point.

University wants no part of them being employees. They would unionize in an instant. Hell they won't even guarantee scholarships

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

University wants no part of them being employees. They would unionize in an instant. Hell they won't even guarantee scholarships

Exactly. That's why the NCAA essentially gutted itself as a governing body and keeps its mouth shut.

They know employee status is coming for college athletes and if the NCAA cares anything about keeping college athletics viable they need to "farm out" the big money making sports as the pro teams they are and get them away from the schools (except as licensed entities.)

If they don't, most of college athletics will be discontinued because schools cannot afford to pay all the athletes.

 

[Delmar]

Sure, understood, but pointing out that:
NIL is a legal construct which simply acknowledges a person has a right to earn income; it's not boycottable and would be nonsensical for fans to do so since neither the school or NCAA can do anything about it.

The portal is an NCAA construct which rights the wrong of holding players hostage. I suspect if NCAA or schools attempted to renege, that would meet and lose a legal challenge. Overwhelmingly, NCAA colleges are government institutions. How is it remotely constitutional for government - or private entities for that matter - to keep non-incarcerated persons where they do not wish to be? I think fans boycotting would be cutting off their own nose. The genie is out.

I think there's virtually nothing - legally sustainable - the NCAA or colleges can do about NIL or the portal. And that's a good thing, changing an unfair - unconstitutional - system we had become accustomed to.

Oh I absolutely agree that there needed to be some sort of profit sharing for the players. The schools and coaches made tons of money for years on the backs of the players. The issue for me is that it is totally out of control already and it’s going to get crazier. No semblance of control and they may not be able to dial it back. It’s going to be a money grab and survival of the fittest. As I said, it’s just a business now for all involved and fans need to realize it for what it is.

 

[chattaboogie]

Per his IG

View attachment 523759

Well done young man!!!

 

[Delmar]

ROFL.

The same s*** was said 20 years ago. And 20 years before that. And 20 years before that.

Remember, the current situation is always the worst one ever.

I agree to a point. My dad used to say the same thing. But if you pay attention to dialogue on just about anything these days (politics in particular), it appears to me there is a lot more rancor in discussions and folks are less willing to compromise. Just my opinion.