N.I.L.

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bigl3327

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#1
Name...Image...Likeness
I know a lot of people here don't think things like Vol Twitter affect ecruiting much, but this is where it can and will be huge. Players are about to get paid legally while in college. The power T is a major brand, even though we have stunk it up on the field, but everything is about perception. N.I.L. will now become a major recruiting tool. When the Vols are winning, we are one of the top revenue generators in the country. Merchandise with your name on it, commercials, and things with your image on them can get you paid here. We can pull some top recruits this way with Vol Twitter being a big help, or lose out with Vol Twitter being dangerously toxic to the program. Thoughts?????
 
#2
#2
It's something to talk to recruits about no doubt, don't think it will give us much of an edge vs. the Bama, Florida and UGA's of the world who can make the same case.
 
#3
#3
It's something to talk to recruits about no doubt, don't think it will give us much of an edge vs. the Bama, Florida and UGA's of the world who can make the same case.
It doesn't have to. There are 4 and 5 star talents committing to a number of other schools every year outside the SEC completely. We have to start landing more of those guys.
 
#4
#4
The universities "can't pay the athlete directly", which changes nothing. Because the schools paying players under the table will continue. So no real advantage to curbing the already corrupt sport......

So, the players will be paid for their NIL. What does this mean for them in terms of distraction, inexperience and vulnerable to people taking advantage of them?

I just see this as a major distraction and cluster.....
 
#5
#5
Name...Image...Likeness
I know a lot of people here don't think things like Vol Twitter affect ecruiting much, but this is where it can and will be huge. Players are about to get paid legally while in college. The power T is a major brand, even though we have stunk it up on the field, but everything is about perception. N.I.L. will now become a major recruiting tool. When the Vols are winning, we are one of the top revenue generators in the country. Merchandise with your name on it, commercials, and things with your image on them can get you paid here. We can pull some top recruits this way with Vol Twitter being a big help, or lose out with Vol Twitter being dangerously toxic to the program. Thoughts?????

I expect you are right. But regardless I hate to see it. College sports is close enough to professional sports as it is. I just hate to see sports go this direction. I have heard talk of being paid (one way or the other) down to the high school level. Really too bad, just hate to see it. But I guess there is just no support for my position.
 
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#6
#6
I expect you are right. But regardless I hate to see it. College sports is close enough to professional sports as it is. I just hate to see sports go this direction. I have heard talk of being paid (one way or the other) down to the high school level. Really too bad, just hate to see it. But I guess there is just no support for my position.
College has embraced NFL mindset but still has too many rules to be NFL B league.
 
#7
#7
The universities "can't pay the athlete directly", which changes nothing. Because the schools paying players under the table will continue. So no real advantage to curbing the already corrupt sport......

So, the players will be paid for their NIL. What does this mean for them in terms of distraction, inexperience and vulnerable to people taking advantage of them?

I just see this as a major distraction and cluster.....

I am waiting to see how it all is worded. If loosely written then players can gets lots of HANDSHAKES on visits and after arrival from folks willing to pay for a picture with Little Bobby for the fridge. Wink wink. Pilot can pay more for local billboards, especially these new digital ones with a recruit of the day. Maybe Dish Network could want a few shots for ads rather than old UT clips. All part of the slippery slope SOME of us fear. We would not be at the bottom of the heap but would not like fighting YELLA WOOD or Nike money.
 
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#8
#8
It's something to talk to recruits about no doubt, don't think it will give us much of an edge vs. the Bama, Florida and UGA's of the world who can make the same case.
It could make the playing time argument stronger when playing earlier boosts revenue.
 
#9
#9
I am waiting to see how it all is worded. If loosely written then players can gets lots of HANDSHAKES on visits and after arrival from folks willing to pay for a picture with Little Bobby for the fridge. Wink wink. Pilot can pay more for local billboards, especially these new digital ones with a recruit of the day. Maybe Dish Network could want a few shots for ads rather than old UT clips. All part of the slippery slope SOME of us fear. We would not be at the bottom of the heap but would not like fighting YELLA WOOD or Nike money.

Fear is the most cited, and the absolute worst reason, used to stall progression. It happens in industry, in society, and in life overall.

Stop being so scared of change.
 
#10
#10
Fear is the most cited, and the absolute worst reason, used to stall progression. It happens in industry, in society, and in life overall.

Stop being so scared of change.

Nobody is scared of change. Wth? It certainly could open the door for lots more corruption.

I, for one, am for paying players. But, it needs to be managed well. I am of the opinion you can't restrict a legal aged adult from making a living. But, college athletes aren't employees, they are students, playing a game that is providing them an education. Many professional athletes have trouble managing.....and we expect kids 18-22 to handle large amounts of cash without some taking advantage of them?

Also, when does it start? When they are 18? What about incoming Freshmen that are 17? When can they start marketing themselves? 15, 16?

Their brand, which is themselves, have to be marketable. When does this start?

There is a way to pay athletes in college. I think a equitable share type system makes the most sense......

Once this starts and you have some players getting paid and some not, then here comes the it's not fair crowd.

I get it's capitalism, but many don't and won't....
 
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#11
#11
Nobody is scared of change. Wth? It certainly could open the door for lots more corruption.

I, for one, am for paying players. But, it needs to be managed well. I am of the opinion you can't restrict a legal aged adult from making a living. But, college athletes aren't employees, they are students, playing a game that is providing them an education. Many professional athletes have trouble managing.....and we expect kids 18-22 to handle large amounts of cash without some taking advantage of them?

Also, when does it start? When they are 18? What about incoming Freshmen that are 17? When can they start marketing themselves? 15, 16?

Their brand, which is themselves, have to be marketable. When does this start?

There is a way to pay athletes in college. I think a equitable share type system makes the most sense......

Once this starts and you have some players getting paid and some not, then here comes the it's not fair crowd.

I get it's capitalism, but many don't and won't....

The poster I responded to literally said “fear”.

Why worry about any of this? Nothing is official to tell us exactly what it’s gonna look like. Also it has zero affect on the majority of our lives (assuming some in here might be in marketing or school admin).

And it should start whenever they want it to start. Players are people just like everyone else. At the same age everyone else can go make money, they should be able to make the money in the market that is afforded to them.

And you’re good with them being paid but not with them deciding how to spend their own money? That’s a curious take.

And they are employees whether you want to label them that or not. They are unpaid employees in a multi-billion dollar business.

This isn’t really that complicated.
 
#12
#12
The poster I responded to literally said “fear”.

Why worry about any of this? Nothing is official to tell us exactly what it’s gonna look like. Also it has zero affect on the majority of our lives (assuming some in here might be in marketing or school admin).

And it should start whenever they want it to start. Players are people just like everyone else. At the same age everyone else can go make money, they should be able to make the money in the market that is afforded to them.

And you’re good with them being paid but not with them deciding how to spend their own money? That’s a curious take.

And they are employees whether you want to label them that or not. They are unpaid employees in a multi-billion dollar business.

This isn’t really that complicated.
It is healthy to FEAR the consequences your actions may bring. Putting aside all the arguments about student athletes and what they deserve, let's focus on the game that we love. It will drastically change the game, and some fear for the worse. It will not be the same. Might be better. Probably not. I fear it will never again be about being a team and fighting for your school, but it will be about who's getting what, who's not happy about it, and who is doing what to keep them happy. We can see what the portal has already done to college teams. We get a cute little "you'll always be first in my heart" message on Twitter as they dump their team for what is best for them. I fear we're about to find out just how much this is going to change college sports. How long before we just create a minor league and take colleges completely out of it? That would solve all the problems. Just let them pay their own way to school if they want to go. Let colleges focus on education. Then we can all tell our grandchildren how we used to love the passion of cheering for something called the Tennessee Volunteers. Don't forget the chills when they came running out of the T!.... Or let's ignore all that and talk about how good this is going to be for a few players on each team especially those who have big corporations behind them.
 
#13
#13
Fear is the most cited, and the absolute worst reason, used to stall progression. It happens in industry, in society, and in life overall.

Stop being so scared of change.

COVID was a change too. There can be good change, bad change, and MEH change. I don’t have faith in the courts and NCAA to start out smart.
 
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#14
#14
It is healthy to FEAR the consequences your actions may bring. Putting aside all the arguments about student athletes and what they deserve, let's focus on the game that we love. It will drastically change the game, and some fear for the worse. It will not be the same. Might be better. Probably not. I fear it will never again be about being a team and fighting for your school, but it will be about who's getting what, who's not happy about it, and who is doing what to keep them happy. We can see what the portal has already done to college teams. We get a cute little "you'll always be first in my heart" message on Twitter as they dump their team for what is best for them. I fear we're about to find out just how much this is going to change college sports. How long before we just create a minor league and take colleges completely out of it? That would solve all the problems. Just let them pay their own way to school if they want to go. Let colleges focus on education. Then we can all tell our grandchildren how we used to love the passion of cheering for something called the Tennessee Volunteers. Don't forget the chills when they came running out of the T!.... Or let's ignore all that and talk about how good this is going to be for a few players on each team especially those who have big corporations behind them.

An understanding of what consequences may come from your actions, and having a plan to remedy an unwanted situation, is healthy. Simply fearing what may happen is like fearing going outside because you may get hit by a bus.

If the people who make decisions didn’t want money to be involved in college sports, they wouldn’t have started paying coaches millions and millions of dollars in order to attract the better employees....uh.... I mean the better “students”. If college athletics are so innocent and you wish them to stay that way, then why not pay college HC like you pay HS football HC? Just district off the communities and require kids to attend the college that aligns with the district in which they live. Think colleges would be ok with this because they could focus on academics and not have to worry about athletics?

If your argument for it not changing is that you love it the way it is, ok cool I get that. I love it the way it is, too. But I’m betting the majority of the millions of college athletes across the country - the ones who actually participate and are a party in all of this - would disagree and don’t love it the way it is currently.

I love and prefer college sports to pro sports (most of the time). But we can’t know what it will become until we try it. You complained about the portal. Apparently the powers at be don’t agree with you. Know why? Bc they’re still making money. Bc college athletics is already a professional business. They just use the word amateur as a shield and for a long time everyone was just like “yes, sure, totally makes sense the athletes aren’t allowed to make any money off of their own name, their own image, or their own likeness because they’re amateurs”.

We’re not even talking about schools paying players. We’re talking about people being able to make money off of themselves. Their own selves. Their face, their name. Imagine if you were the best at your job in a multi-billion dollar industry and you were told you couldn’t maximize your potential to profit but your company can. But everyone is telling you that you should be happy because the company is keeping you employed and they let you eat free lunch everyday. Now imagine you were an intern at that job and didn’t even earn a salary from the company. Just the free lunches I mentioned, a company car, and free housing. I guess you’d be cool with that? Couldn’t be me.
 
#15
#15
All the more reason the NFL and NBA should start their on minor leagues. This is all about money and who makes it. If somebody coming out of High School has the potential of signing a agreement with a shoe and apparel company or a video game company let them do so and do it on a pro level not as a amateur since they are not employees of the school where they will be getting the exposure. This is why the pros should do what they should have done years ago and quit using the College's as their own free minor leagues.

Should Athletes get some type of stipend to help off set some everyday expenses? There are good arguments on both side but paying for a players families transportation to see their son or daughter play in some big games is a no brainer, sure they should. When a individual decides to attend a college that has offered a scholarship, that scholarship should be for four years guaranteed but if they leave early to go to the pros either they or the team they join should have to repay the amount of the scholarship to that point. All this seems easy enough but it is about money so that makes it hard.

By the way, there are a few schools that do pay their players and that is the Military Academies but out of that pay they have to pay for some of their expenses. I would argue most of those players play for the love of the game and not a payday.
 
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#16
#16
The poster I responded to literally said “fear”.

Why worry about any of this? Nothing is official to tell us exactly what it’s gonna look like. Also it has zero affect on the majority of our lives (assuming some in here might be in marketing or school admin).

And it should start whenever they want it to start. Players are people just like everyone else. At the same age everyone else can go make money, they should be able to make the money in the market that is afforded to them.

And you’re good with them being paid but not with them deciding how to spend their own money? That’s a curious take.

And they are employees whether you want to label them that or not. They are unpaid employees in a multi-billion dollar business.

This isn’t really that complicated.

No. Not with how they spend their money. With other people taking their money....
 
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#17
#17
The poster I responded to literally said “fear”.

Why worry about any of this? Nothing is official to tell us exactly what it’s gonna look like. Also it has zero affect on the majority of our lives (assuming some in here might be in marketing or school admin).

And it should start whenever they want it to start. Players are people just like everyone else. At the same age everyone else can go make money, they should be able to make the money in the market that is afforded to them.

And you’re good with them being paid but not with them deciding how to spend their own money? That’s a curious take.

And they are employees whether you want to label them that or not. They are unpaid employees in a multi-billion dollar business.

This isn’t really that complicated.

No. They aren't employees. Maybe you're an advocate for them to get paid. I don't totally disagree with you. But they aren't employees of the university.....
 
#18
#18
The poster I responded to literally said “fear”.

Why worry about any of this? Nothing is official to tell us exactly what it’s gonna look like. Also it has zero affect on the majority of our lives (assuming some in here might be in marketing or school admin).

And it should start whenever they want it to start. Players are people just like everyone else. At the same age everyone else can go make money, they should be able to make the money in the market that is afforded to them.

And you’re good with them being paid but not with them deciding how to spend their own money? That’s a curious take.

And they are employees whether you want to label them that or not. They are unpaid employees in a multi-billion dollar business.

This isn’t really that complicated.

I'll add that while they aren't employees, they are fundamental to each organizations success. Which includes TV contracts, ticket sales, merchandise sales, concession sales and even the local ecomony. Especially when their contributions lead to winning and being a product fans want to go see. That just naturally boosts revenue, because more people are spending more money for and on their product (winning/losing/entertainment).

I think a profit share, or equitable sharing program would be the way to go. That way all student athletes get paid. But, you can offer "bonuses" or a "royalty" for the top athletes to share in the sales of merchandise when their name/number/identity is used.

Opening up the flood gates to the sharks would ruin college sports as we know it. The sharks are the one's who would prey on the student athlete for their own financial gain.

To have a strickly business/capitalistic structure there needs to be a semi-pro league.

If you are good enough to go pro out of high school go pro. If you aren't go to college and still earn some money. Let the market work it out but don't let the market ruin college football.....
 
#19
#19
An understanding of what consequences may come from your actions, and having a plan to remedy an unwanted situation, is healthy. Simply fearing what may happen is like fearing going outside because you may get hit by a bus.

If the people who make decisions didn’t want money to be involved in college sports, they wouldn’t have started paying coaches millions and millions of dollars in order to attract the better employees....uh.... I mean the better “students”. If college athletics are so innocent and you wish them to stay that way, then why not pay college HC like you pay HS football HC? Just district off the communities and require kids to attend the college that aligns with the district in which they live. Think colleges would be ok with this because they could focus on academics and not have to worry about athletics?

If your argument for it not changing is that you love it the way it is, ok cool I get that. I love it the way it is, too. But I’m betting the majority of the millions of college athletes across the country - the ones who actually participate and are a party in all of this - would disagree and don’t love it the way it is currently.

I love and prefer college sports to pro sports (most of the time). But we can’t know what it will become until we try it. You complained about the portal. Apparently the powers at be don’t agree with you. Know why? Bc they’re still making money. Bc college athletics is already a professional business. They just use the word amateur as a shield and for a long time everyone was just like “yes, sure, totally makes sense the athletes aren’t allowed to make any money off of their own name, their own image, or their own likeness because they’re amateurs”.

We’re not even talking about schools paying players. We’re talking about people being able to make money off of themselves. Their own selves. Their face, their name. Imagine if you were the best at your job in a multi-billion dollar industry and you were told you couldn’t maximize your potential to profit but your company can. But everyone is telling you that you should be happy because the company is keeping you employed and they let you eat free lunch everyday. Now imagine you were an intern at that job and didn’t even earn a salary from the company. Just the free lunches I mentioned, a company car, and free housing. I guess you’d be cool with that? Couldn’t be me.
Exactly...just have minor leagues and get it over with. Forget everything that makes college football better than any sport on earth because those being played with a college education, college memories, college fans, and all the other extras to help train them for a chance at the NFL are not satisfied with that. Poor things sacrifice for 3 or 4 years. A few minor league teams will get rid of all the extras and only keep the really good ones NFL teams are interested in..... But it is going to change. We'll see what happens.
 
#20
#20
No. They aren't employees. Maybe you're an advocate for them to get paid. I don't totally disagree with you. But they aren't employees of the university.....

Not right now, but companies and other entities have been trying to stiff workers out being “technically” employees as long as being an employee has granted legal protections. Coal miners were “independent contractors” to avoid workmen’s comp, same with gig workers now. The university doesn’t officially “employ” adjunct professors to avoid paying for benefits. The current classification doesn’t mean that they’re not being grossly undercompensated for their labor.
 
#21
#21
Not right now, but companies and other entities have been trying to stiff workers out being “technically” employees as long as being an employee has granted legal protections. Coal miners were “independent contractors” to avoid workmen’s comp, same with gig workers now. The university doesn’t officially “employ” adjunct professors to avoid paying for benefits. The current classification doesn’t mean that they’re not being grossly undercompensated for their labor.

It is like I said earlier just let the NFL and NBA start a minor league like MLB and NHL and let them be paid by what the market will bare. That is a very simple answer to a difficult question. The argument I have heard against the minors in those sports is that people just out of high school aren't physically ready, will that is why they call it the developmental or minor leagues.

If a large group of the top talent went the minor league route I'm not sure if it would effect the die -hards that cheer for them XYor Z if they can win in their leagues. For someone that is just a fan of the game and not a team I'm not sure it would matter that much. I remember when the NFL went on strike years ago people started watching all divisions of college, high school and even semi-pro back then. So even though the overall decline was talent on the field and some revenue, people still watched the game. Usually the general interest among the average college fan is connected too a specific team and not player and that would continue.
 
#22
#22
It is like I said earlier just let the NFL and NBA start a minor league like MLB and NHL and let them be paid by what the market will bare. That is a very simple answer to a difficult question. The argument I have heard against the minors in those sports is that people just out of high school aren't physically ready, will that is why they call it the developmental or minor leagues.

If a large group of the top talent went the minor league route I'm not sure if it would effect the die -hards that cheer for them XYor Z if they can win in their leagues. For someone that is just a fan of the game and not a team I'm not sure it would matter that much. I remember when the NFL went on strike years ago people started watching all divisions of college, high school and even semi-pro back then. So even though the overall decline was talent on the field and some revenue, people still watched the game. Usually the general interest among the average college fan is connected too a specific team and not player and that would continue.

I agree that the best system is a minor league, but there’s too much money in college ball for it to truly go back to being amateur, even with a robust minor league system. I think what will ultimately happen is a minor league system, but with the franchises affiliated with various power 5 schools, renting facilities and engaging in licensing deals with the school. There’s no way to stand up a successful minor league that can complete head-to-head with the college brands.
 
#23
#23
I agree that the best system is a minor league, but there’s too much money in college ball for it to truly go back to being amateur, even with a robust minor league system. I think what will ultimately happen is a minor league system, but with the franchises affiliated with various power 5 schools, renting facilities and engaging in licensing deals with the school. There’s no way to stand up a successful minor league that can complete head-to-head with the college brands.

I agree totally and I think that will happen as soon as the NIL laws pass and P5 schools start there own Association and the NCAA is relegated to the governing body of everything that is left. The part that bothers me the most is the influence that certain Apparel companies or video companies will have over the prospects and where they attend. It happens now in BB as far as AAU goes and is inching or at least becoming more overt in FB.

When you start getting handlers as well as agents involved openly then it really is nothing more than the sleezier side of college sports we already have, just it will be legal and more in your face. The kids then will be nothing more than money makers for a lot of people leading them down the road that will make those types the most money and not what is necessarily best for the Athlete or their futures in the long run.
 
#24
#24
It's something to talk to recruits about no doubt, don't think it will give us much of an edge vs. the Bama, Florida and UGA's of the world who can make the same case.

We are in a nice 2nd tier - look at cities where universities are - where a lot of the advertising will occur.

Knoxville vs:

Tuscaloosa, Athens, and Gainesville lolol. We have double, if not more, the population of these towns.

We are in a great spot vs SEC opponents.

Now the top tier are Columbus and Austin. They have 800-1m population and little professional competition.
 
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#25
#25
Not right now, but companies and other entities have been trying to stiff workers out being “technically” employees as long as being an employee has granted legal protections. Coal miners were “independent contractors” to avoid workmen’s comp, same with gig workers now. The university doesn’t officially “employ” adjunct professors to avoid paying for benefits. The current classification doesn’t mean that they’re not being grossly undercompensated for their labor.

They aren't employees in any shape form or fashion. They are students that play a game. Not saying it's fair or not fair. I think paying them is a good idea. But they aren't employees nor contractors.
 

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