A solution to NIL madness

[landscapingvol]

I do believe we are on an inevitable path to where players are no longer students, but rather contract employees. As far as allowing players to have unlimited eligibility, maybe. But at that point College football will be in more direct competition with the NFL for players. I'm not sure if either side wants that. But if eliminating the academic factor happens, unlimited eligibility is probably inevitable. Why impose arbitrary restrictions on player eligibility when academics are no longer part of the equation?

The NFL is essentially immortal versus all other sports including College Football. IF the NCAA lurches closer to the NFL model, it will kill itself, otherwise what would be the point in College Football. The draw of it has always been the regional rivalries and the mystique of amateur athletes

 

[Dadof2Vols]

I don't see how the football eligibility relates to one's right to transfer schools. They seem like two different situations. Anyone can attend any school they want, they may not however, be eligible to play sports. Doesn't seem like NCAA is treating anyone different by limiting eligibility.

We have transfers without sitting out a year because the court said you could not make an athlete sit out a year when they transfer if normal students can transfer without penalties…..so you can’t limit transfers maybe only the transfer windows for student athletes.

I am with you I just think you will find some court to over rule the transfer rules now that the NCAA has lost on the transfer issue….probably the only thing that will stand in the end is you have to stay academically eligible and you cannot transfer during season…

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Can you tell me which court said that? Seriously, I'm asking for real. I'll admit I haven't done much research on court rulings, although I did skim the Harvard Review for the Alston case. I saw nothing in that review where the Supreme Court touched on transfers or the portal. The entire case appeared to be about NIL, with some pay for play being addressed.

NIL doesn't bother me that much, especially if outside businesses are actually paying for a guy's endorsement. I think the unfettered transfer portal does more damage to the game than NIL.

NCAA, states reach agreement in lawsuit to permanently allow multiple-transfer athletes to compete

The NCAA and a coalition of states suing the organization announced a proposed settlement of a lawsuit Thursday that would allow athletes to be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer and offer some who were sidelined an extra year of eligibility.

www.wdbj7.com

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

I don't see how the football eligibility relates to one's right to transfer schools. They seem like two different situations. Anyone can attend any school they want, they may not however, be eligible to play sports. Doesn't seem like NCAA is treating anyone different by limiting eligibility.

Easy. It's discriminates against athletes compared to every other student. You can't intentionally discriminate against a student based on an extracurricular activity.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

Not a bad plan, you can bet a congressional solution will come faster when all those displaced HS kids don’t get schollies due to 30 year old COLLEGE players.

Eventually someone will champion a requirement for a pay for play division, and return the old school methods to the rest of the divisions and ALL the non revenue sports.

Maybe another division with NIL and the rest all scholly based. How many guys can ETSU MTSU UTC UTM pay to go on the same fields with the big boys?

That will be the basis for the recovery of college athletics, pros will not be allowed on same fields with teams that have none. They must be provided a place, but cannot demand every place. Write it in plain language and the courts can’t muck it up. COLLEGE ATHLETICS RESTORATION ACT.

Can’t believe it will take more than 32 teams to cover the number of pro worthy pay guys. There will never be a return to Match the NFL and NBA roster numbers and it creates a tough argument. So schools can the new DIVISION P in some sports and old divisions in others. Can they really require D2 to go pay for play or NIL? Doubt it. Reduce D1 by 32 and move on. Playoffs for DP and March Madness for D1. Different TV deals.

There is a place for amateur athletics. Hybrids won’t fly.

There will never be a return to that model, because it violates federal laws.

 

[ftsandersvol]

Now that the illusion of the "student athlete" has been completely shattered I have a solution to the issue of players holding teams hostage for money.

Currently there's a supply and demand issue. very few top tier QBs (or other positions) and too many teams that want them. this gives players the ability to come out of high school, never having played a snap of college ball and ask for stupid amounts of money for little in return in the way of on field performance as we saw with Nico.

I think the NCAA could kill the supply issue right now by elimination of all eligibility rules. let players play in the NCAA for as long as they can. If they are good enough to go to the NFL, great. if they suck and get kicked off the team, fine. If they try the NFL and can't hack it, come on back to the NCAA.

There are a TON of players, especially QBs that were fantastic college QBs that couldn't hack it in the NFL, why let that go to waste if they can make a living in the NCAA?

And if the NCAA flooded the market with these players, guys like Nico would be irrelevant out of high school. it would force them to play at least a year or two to prove their worth before being able to demand big bucks.

Offer and education as just one benefit of playing for a school. let them take 1 class a semester if they want. Enough with the "you only get 4 years of playing time and have to go to class full time". If they want their education it's there for them for free, otherwise don't pretend like it actually matters.

give the stupid amounts of money to the players who have actual experience playing well at the NCAA level.

Then they can move college football season to the spring so it doesn’t compete with the NFL and call it the UFL.

 

[kiddiedoc]

I agree with this!!! The collectives have created this mess and i am not sure why the fans do not see it. We have to stop this paying players up front for an anticipated value. Imagine how much money Spyre lost on Nico by him bailing early and skipping events that were intended for the collective to recoup some of their funds.

... except that the above plan is illegal.

 

[DonDiego]

NCAA, states reach agreement in lawsuit to permanently allow multiple-transfer athletes to compete

The NCAA and a coalition of states suing the organization announced a proposed settlement of a lawsuit Thursday that would allow athletes to be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer and offer some who were sidelined an extra year of eligibility.

www.wdbj7.com

Thank you for that. Collective bargaining it is.

 

[volfanhill]

You are a massive Dbag if you want to limit someone's ability to earn all they can on their Name, image, and likeness. Transfer portal is what needs to be figured out.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Thank you for that. Collective bargaining it is.

The bottom line is Congress.

The Harvard Review you read of Alston details that without Congress carving out an Antitrust Exemption specifically to allow the NCAA to regulate college sports, the NCAA will lose almost every, if not every, court challenge.

 

[Volwonder1]

It’s killing the integrity of the game. What’s to stop a player signing up with the Vols learning the ins and outs of the playbook and players then when spring ends leaving and going to sign up with say Bama and just relaying the ins and outs. It may not have happened yet or maybe it has but it’s completely insane.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

It’s killing the integrity of the game. What’s to stop a player signing up with the Vols learning the ins and outs of the playbook and players then when spring ends leaving and going to sign up with say Bama and just relaying the ins and outs. It may not have happened yet or maybe it has but it’s completely insane.

The SEC, currently, has a rule that winter transfers cannot go to another SEC team.

Whether that will stand if challenged in court or not, I'm not an attorney and not sure.

 

[vegasvolfan]

Now that the illusion of the "student athlete" has been completely shattered I have a solution to the issue of players holding teams hostage for money.

Currently there's a supply and demand issue. very few top tier QBs (or other positions) and too many teams that want them. this gives players the ability to come out of high school, never having played a snap of college ball and ask for stupid amounts of money for little in return in the way of on field performance as we saw with Nico.

I think the NCAA could kill the supply issue right now by elimination of all eligibility rules. let players play in the NCAA for as long as they can. If they are good enough to go to the NFL, great. if they suck and get kicked off the team, fine. If they try the NFL and can't hack it, come on back to the NCAA.

There are a TON of players, especially QBs that were fantastic college QBs that couldn't hack it in the NFL, why let that go to waste if they can make a living in the NCAA?

And if the NCAA flooded the market with these players, guys like Nico would be irrelevant out of high school. it would force them to play at least a year or two to prove their worth before being able to demand big bucks.

Offer and education as just one benefit of playing for a school. let them take 1 class a semester if they want. Enough with the "you only get 4 years of playing time and have to go to class full time". If they want their education it's there for them for free, otherwise don't pretend like it actually matters.

give the stupid amounts of money to the players who have actual experience playing well at the NCAA level.

First thing I will say is I surely hope not. Not sure I will ever look at the sport the same. Players can already redshirt for various reasons, which is fair. You can't just look at the QB position either. We don't need a bunch of fully developed men playing 18 year olds. One here and there at QB (which we see to date) is one thing, but a bunch of fully grown DLs, OLs, RBs, etc... will leave the 18 year olds to get crushed. The youngsters shouldn't be forced to wait 3 years to start against men in their primes because of guys who couldn't hack it in the NFL falling back to their ranks. There is the Canadian league, and there was at least Arena football for those who weren't good enough to go from College to Pros and most stay there for a reason.

To responders: This is a college sport. Always has been and most likely always will be. Colleges will not let go of the revenue or their brands. Only possibility IMO is that an actual minor league is created, but then again, that's what college football has served as with or without the NIL for many years. I think they do need to have only a sole transfer window right after the season. Players can still leave, but if they stay, they are locked into their initial contract. This business of filling rosters during the spring is ridiculous.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

To responders: This is a college sport. Always has been and most likely always will be. Colleges will not let go of the revenue or their brands. Only possibility IMO is that an actual minor league is created, but then again, that's what college football has served as with or without the NIL for many years. I think they do need to have only a sole transfer window right after the season. Players can still leave, but if they stay, they are locked into their initial contract. This business of filling rosters during the spring is ridiculous.

Colleges are academic institutions, not pro sports franchises that need to have sports revenue and sports branding. That's a big problem from the gitgo. Schools WANTED that media revenue and to build a brand which led us here. The money became the point, not the academics. MULTIPLE states highest paid employee is college coach. Think about how screwed up that is.

It's not college sports. It's pro sports that happen to be attached to colleges. That's not at all within the mission of a university. Not at all.

The colleges did this. They broke it. They had sports which augmented the academic experience and turned into a massive business. A business which the Supreme Court has said is in violation of Antitrust Law at the core and only Congress can fix it.

Colleges need to get out of the pro sports business.

 

[VOLtaism]

Because the court said you can’t enforce that unless you enforce that on ALL students not just athletes.

Then how do they enforce the 4 year eligibility rule? They play football and the other students do not. So they can transfer as many times as they like but can't play football.

 

[VolBallGuy]

Might as well change the name from “college sports” to “ front row seat to the death of loyalty within our country’s premier young athletes.”

 

[jessiej86]

Easy. It's discriminates against athletes compared to every other student. You can't intentionally discriminate against a student based on an extracurricular activity.

They're not saying athletes can't transfer to another college to obtain an education. The old rule just made them wait a year before they were eligible to participate in sports. I get that it was a ruling, still don't see the correlation with student/athlete.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

Then how do they enforce the 4 year eligibility rule? They play football and the other students do not. So they can transfer as many times as they like but can't play football.

Don’t know….

Maybe something be hasn’t sued over that yet?

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

They're not saying athletes can't transfer to another college to obtain an education. The old rule just made them wait a year before they were eligible to participate in sports. I get that it was a ruling, still don't see the correlation with student/athlete.

The federal district court ruled that is was discriminatory against athletes in the Ohio vs NCAA case. At least 15 other state attorneys general joined as plaintiffs in that case.

The NCAA lost and changed the rule to avoid economic damages like they got hit with in the House case.

It doesn't matter if non participants get the "why" or not.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

Might as well change the name from “college sports” to “ front row seat to the death of loyalty within our country’s premier young athletes.”

If you ever changed jobs, that is nauseatingly hypocritical of you.

 

[BigOrangeNC]

Allow transfers only if your GPA is higher than x and you have more than x hours at current school.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

Allow transfers only if your GPA is higher than x and you have more than x hours at current school.

Violates federal law and court orders.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

You are a massive Dbag if you want to limit someone's ability to earn all they can on their Name, image, and likeness. Transfer portal is what needs to be figured out.

What % of D1 players do you think are pay worthy for more than scholly, housing, medical, stipend, etc? What % of all D1, D2 and D3?

They need to have the ability earn that money, but in separate divisions. The VAST majority of college athletes have ZERO pro potential and are better served in the amateur model. A new Division for the big boys and girls where they can go pay for play OR amatuer with hardened NIL with separate TV contracts can get it done.

Match the NFL, NBA, headcount’s should be sufficient to withstand the judges. With larger squad sizes you don’t need as many teams?

 

[Visidog]

What % of D1 players do you think are pay worthy for more than scholly, housing, medical, stipend, etc? What % of all D1, D2 and D3?

They need to have the ability earn that money, but in separate divisions. The VAST majority of college athletes have ZERO pro potential and are better served in the amateur model. A new Division for the big boys and girls where they can go pay for play OR amatuer with hardened NIL with separate TV contracts can get it done.

Match the NFL, NBA, headcount’s should be sufficient to withstand the judges. With larger squad sizes you don’t need as many teams?

As someone with a kid going through this process, it’s wild what college sports have become. My kid isn’t a revenue sport kid, but the portal and the house settlement have radically changed college athletics in just a couple years. Even low level D1 rosters are now heavily weighted towards transfers, and the expectation is that a large number of players will transfer to keep playing or get where they want to go. The days of just continuing your playing career in college are at an end unless something changes.

I get the reasons for the decisions and I think the marriage of sport and college was always a little weird. But it’s very likely that college sports as we know them will be unrecognizable in a few more years.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

What % of D1 players do you think are pay worthy for more than scholly, housing, medical, stipend, etc? What % of all D1, D2 and D3?

They need to have the ability earn that money, but in separate divisions. The VAST majority of college athletes have ZERO pro potential and are better served in the amateur model. A new Division for the big boys and girls where they can go pay for play OR amatuer with hardened NIL with separate TV contracts can get it done.

Match the NFL, NBA, headcount’s should be sufficient to withstand the judges. With larger squad sizes you don’t need as many teams?

NFL rosters are about half of the size of college rosters. 53 players with only 48 active, I think. College rosters are at 105.

NBA and college are already the same at 15, I believe.

Besides that, you won't get away with keeping the mandatory college aspect once you have a player's union and collective bargaining. If players want to go to school, fine, but don't let that impact your real job which is playing football or basketball or baseball. You won't be able to cap anything or control free agency without becoming a pro league and collective bargaining with a union.

Expecting lower divisions, in your model, not to sue to unionize also is a problem. The NCAA cannot win a single challenge in court BECAUSE the model is in violation of Antitrust at the core. Any school that sues to provide NIL to recruit or allow wholesale transfers wins immediately. There's not a viable organization currently which can "keep the lower divisions purely amateur."