I Surrender

[VFL-82-JP]

Man up, Gator!

Life comes in lumps. It is what it is. Get over your hardship and adjust.

Go Vols!

 

[utvolpj]

Ah the backhanded swipe at UT and what they're doing. All these "it just isn't the same" people just can't admit that it being out in the open evens the playing field. Not to mention their built in recruiting advantage takes a hit

 

[deezvols]

More or less. But, they can market themselves all the live long day wherever they happen to be.

I would be in favor of a system where someone accepts a 3 year contract from the University of Tennessee with whatever benefits that comes with and that player can't just jump ship in 5 seconds. That's just an example.

I haven't worked out all the details, but there's a reason the professional leagues don't have the entire labor market hit free agency all at once.

I agree it’s a little out of hand. But if a school is making NIL deals without some stipulation of staying at that school in order to continue receiving payments, they’re doing it wrong.

 

[vol94]

The pageantry of college football will not be the same with players “opting” into the portal without developing an allegiance to his current university. There will be loyalty by most but gone are the days where a player loves his school (Manning, Barnett, Grant Williams, Tebow, etc). That’s what makes college football special and unlike free agency in the NFL.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Oh, it’s always existed, it was just hidden behind fake LLC’s and Mom and Dad’s name.

You can argue if players SHOULD be getting paid at all, but you can’t be mad about NIL just because what’s been happening since the first game college football game is legal now.

Sorry.

I think there’s a discussion to be had about the combination of unregulated money with an open transfer portal. The ability for college kids to leverage a new deal each year is new and IMO is the biggest problem with the current situation .

 

[vol94]

Ah the backhanded swipe at UT and what they're doing. All these "it just isn't the same" people just can't admit that it being out in the open evens the playing field. Not to mention their built in recruiting advantage takes a hit

I agree about the NIL as $$$ exchanged hands yrs ago ( SMU, Miami, Ohio State, USC, etc). It’s in the open now but the portal does concern me.

 

[EdEcEko77]

 

[Voltopia]

I want to say at the outset that this is not a complaint about fairness. this isn't about winning or losing. This isn't about thinking that my school is now at an advantage or disadvantage.

I foresee a future where sometimes they're on top and sometimes they're not. And I'm ok with that. That's the way it's always been.

But, this NIL stuff. I surrender. The joy I had watching college football.....and I will still watch.....and I will still cheer......I'm not going to be one of those people who says they're through and you know damn well they're still watching. I'll be watching.

But, it's never going to be the same. And it sucks. It truly does.

It will not bring me the same level of joy it once did.

But, as you follow recruiting and the portal, it is utter madness. And one can say it's always been the case with recruits and money, but that's hogwash. It's never been close to this.

You've got portal numbers of anywhere from 10-20 players and recruiting classes of 20-25. Half the roster will be at the school for a year. You can't even get excited about recruiting because no one knows if the player is willing to wait two years to see the field.

It will never, ever be the same. Everyone will adapt because that's what you have to do to survive.

But, this isn't good.

I'm with you, man. It will never be the same. People have talked for years now about there being no loyalty from schools to coaches, or from coaches to schools. The money killed the idea of being loyal; coaches like Tom Osborne or Woody Hayes or even Steve Spurrier would be unthinkable now. And now with the NIL money there'll be no loyalty from players to schools, either. The big names will be a phone call away from leaving, just like the coaches. It's all a merry-go-round, and a kid who's at your school one day can be gone the next. So why bother? I don't understand why I would get excited. Anyone can leave at a moment's notice. And whatever ability you might have had to convince yourself that these kids cared about their school is gone. It's not about commitment, it's just about money. Certainly is easier in many ways I guess, but it's also far less compelling.

That's something I just find fascinating about all these changes. No matter how distorted or mercenary they make college sports, the fans are just expected to shut up and support it. Keep watching, keep spending money, keep traveling, keep donating. I don't know. The money just poisoned the well. The schools took it, to be sure. They played their part. But if I wanted the NFL, I'd watch the NFL. Which I don't. So why I'd watch a mini-NFL is beyond me. I think sometimes about how fortunate I was to follow the Vols in the 1990s and 2000s. I wish I had enjoyed it more. I wish I'd gone to even more games.

But like you said. It'll never be the same. I think about Chris Lofton being the amazing player he was at Tennessee, and then Kentucky coming at him after his sophomore year with an offer he couldn't refuse. I think about Georgia waving enough money in Eric Berry's face to get him to leave a more-or-less average Tennessee program and come home. If the money's good enough, who's going to say no to money? No reason to get overly-invested in it anymore.

So I'm with you, man. It's a sinking feeling.

 

[utvolpj]

I agree about the NIL as $$$ exchanged hands yrs ago ( SMU, Miami, Ohio State, USC, etc). It’s in the open now but the portal does concern me.

The portal only concerns me for the ones who enter but then have nowhere to go. That needs to be addressed. Other than that they should have the same rights as coaches to move freely. They only have a 5yr window anyways

 

[99gator]

The portal only concerns me for the ones who enter but then have nowhere to go. That needs to be addressed. Other than that they should have the same rights as coaches to move freely. They only have a 5yr window anyways

Can't have it both ways. Can't chase the bag and then cry if no one gives it to you

 

[Enki_Amenra]

I want to say at the outset that this is not a complaint about fairness. this isn't about winning or losing. This isn't about thinking that my school is now at an advantage or disadvantage.

I foresee a future where sometimes they're on top and sometimes they're not. And I'm ok with that. That's the way it's always been.

But, this NIL stuff. I surrender. The joy I had watching college football.....and I will still watch.....and I will still cheer......I'm not going to be one of those people who says they're through and you know damn well they're still watching. I'll be watching.

But, it's never going to be the same. And it sucks. It truly does.

It will not bring me the same level of joy it once did.

But, as you follow recruiting and the portal, it is utter madness. And one can say it's always been the case with recruits and money, but that's hogwash. It's never been close to this.

You've got portal numbers of anywhere from 10-20 players and recruiting classes of 20-25. Half the roster will be at the school for a year. You can't even get excited about recruiting because no one knows if the player is willing to wait two years to see the field.

It will never, ever be the same. Everyone will adapt because that's what you have to do to survive.

But, this isn't good.

You'll really be done after we spank the gatas by 50 this year. . .

 

[imw8n4u]

I've gone back and forth on this myself. I guess I keep coming back to the same question. If coaches can leave anytime for more money, or worse, use other offers to extort money from their current school, why shouldn't players having the same opportunity?

 

[utvolpj]

Can't have it both ways. Can't chase the bag and then cry if no one gives it to you

Most are just chasing playing time

 

[99gator]

I agree it’s a little out of hand. But if a school is making NIL deals without some stipulation of staying at that school in order to continue receiving payments, they’re doing it wrong.

I don't claim to have the solution. But, this is madness.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Making sure players get their bag. Fine. Totally making the idea of the gaining of a degree irrelevant, the lifelong benefit of being a 4-year letterman at the University of Tennessee irrelevant, etc., is a bad thing.

And don't kid yourselves, like the NFL players, we will get sob stories of these guys who got their money, go broke and have no degree and no loyalty from anyone for the exact reason that they are not a "VFL" or what have you.

 

[SayNoToJorts]

Hard to pinpoint where all this sadness is coming from but I’ll take a stab at it

 

[vol94]

The portal only concerns me for the ones who enter but then have nowhere to go. That needs to be addressed. Other than that they should have the same rights as coaches to move freely. They only have a 5yr window anyways

I understand it may help a player for obtain more playing time or find a better fit. I’m not for players transferring due to NIL money. I’m old school and there is something to say about a free education. But again, I understand both sides.

 

[WestTennesseeVol]

I've gone back and forth on this myself. I guess I keep coming back to the same question. If coaches can leave anytime for more money, or worse, use other offers to extort money from their current school, why shouldn't players having the same opportunity?

The only difference I see is that the coach is (supposed to be) the head of the team and if he’s not happy, it does no good to keep him around. A player still has incentive to perform even if he’s not happy, such as keeping his scholarship and getting drafted.

But I agree, if a coach can go chase the money and bounce whenever he wants off the work of college students, it’s hard to look one of those college students in the face and tell him tough luck, he gets nothing (a free education not withstanding.)

 

[B81]

Just remember, the ncaa rules, as we knew them, are not that old. Maybe late 70’s. Prior to that, teams took as many players as they wanted, and guys changed schools all the time. Scholarships were the pay, because their was no big time money in the NFL, or College tv contracts. The rules we had were designed to level the playing field. They were tweaked when ESPN formed, and more than 1 game was able to be on TV. They didn’t work, and when college football became a billion dollar business, things were bound to change.

 

[njvols]

The bagman's always existed. An open market bidding war for free agents on one year contracts had not previously existed.

Sorry.

I agree, and think the portal stuff needs to be a "one time transfer" then go back to the old rules of sitting out a year. On NIL, though I don't like it, and ultimately think there will have to be some sort of guard rails, may actually start bringing some parity to what NCAA has refused to address. I mean, who really enjoys starting a college football season knowing it's going to be among 2-3 teams who end up winning it all...except for fans of those teams. JMO, but think having 4 playoff teams has allowed Bama, UGA, OK, OSU...maybe LSU and ND to build a separation from the rest of college football... if there were 8-12 teams, then that would bring in 16+ or so teams that could recruit towards the playoffs. Now, w/ NIL, teams like even Jackson State (Deon Sanders) can bring in top recruits that don't end up at Bama or UGA, etc.

All this being said, the dilution of players staying on one team hurts traditional fandom in my opinion. All of us enjoy the excitement of having a young exciting player waiting in the wings for fans to get excited about, whether football or basketball...then, poof, they're gone, and a portal guy comes in, but just feels different. It's much more loose than NFL, and needs to be tightened up. I think one reason Jay Wright retired at Nova.

 

[WestTennesseeVol]

I think there’s a discussion to be had about the combination of unregulated money with an open transfer portal. The ability for college kids to leverage a new deal each year is new and IMO is the biggest problem with the current situation .

The only difference I see is that instead of a player going into his coaches office and saying the players mom would look really good in a new suburban and the coach from the other school is best friends with the owner of a car dealership, he can just take his money and buy his mom a new suburban if he wants.

Dumb example, but I think it gets my point across.

 

[reecetn]

I am not sure how NIL deals work, but it seems like they are local investors and marketing firms that want to pay athletes for advertisements. Like the deal here in Kingsport that Pal's has with John Fulkerson. I think this will slow down the transfers if the NIL deals are done right. Structure them in 3 year packages for instance.

 

[VOLtaism]

I agree it’s ridiculous. NIL is ridiculous, sketchy McDonalds bags full of money is ridiculous, paying coaches millions of dollars is ridiculous, not allowing players to transfer when coaches leave in the middle of the night is/was ridiculous.

The point is, it’s already been happening, you can’t just fake ignorance and pretend they’re playing because they love UT so much.

Back to the point of, its always been like this I disagree, not that it wasn't happening at all. The fire was under control and held in check simply by their ability to hide it. The McDonald's bags are one example. Paying coaches millions is what started the fire and it's been burning out of control ever since. Hey, in the middle of a wildfire someone decided to create the transfer portal! LOL! No stopping it now.

 

[WestTennesseeVol]

Back to the point of, its always been like this I disagree, not that it wasn't happening at all. The fire was under control and held in check simply by their ability to hide it. The McDonald's bags are one example. Paying coaches millions is what started the fire and it's been burning out of control ever since. Hey, in the middle of a wildfire someone decided to create the transfer portal! LOL! No stopping it now.

We can agree on that. Personally, I don’t think players should be paid beyond a scholarship and a stipend, but paying these coaches millions and millions of dollars is what started this nonsense. I mean, I think in basically every state, the highest paid state employee is either a college football or basketball coach, how dumb is that?

But you can’t honestly look at the guys actually putting in the work on the field and tell them Coach Pruitt sucks at his job and is going to get paid millions to do nothing while we have to give you a 10 digit grid coordinate to pick up a McDonalds bag at midnight.

It’s a lose lose situation, but I’ve just accepted that it’s basically minor league football sponsored by universities. And hey, some guys know they’ll never make it in the NFL and are going to get a free degree. Not always a bad thing.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

The only difference I see is that instead of a player going into his coaches office and saying the players mom would look really good in a new suburban and the coach from the other school is best friends with the owner of a car dealership, he can just take his money and buy his mom a new suburban if he wants.

Dumb example, but I think it gets my point across.

I have no problem with an athlete getting what he or she’s worth on the open market. I think theres a lot of $$ out there and they should have the opportunity to cash in. However, people (Jay Bilas) need to stop pretending that student athletes should be treated the same as every other student. They’re not the same . They live different lives, they get in to school under different circumstances than most students, it’s a completely different way to attend a school. They’re not the same as coaches either. If Pat Narduzzi is offered the USC job, he can accept it, but there’s going to be a large sum of $ that either Pat or someone from USC is going to have to pay Pitt to get him out of that contract. That doesn’t exist for the player. He can just up and leave without any sort of penalty. Like I said, by themselves the “NIL” or the portal can be a good thing, but combined I think they’re bad for the game.

 

[BowlBrother85]

I want to say at the outset that this is not a complaint about fairness. this isn't about winning or losing. This isn't about thinking that my school is now at an advantage or disadvantage.

I foresee a future where sometimes they're on top and sometimes they're not. And I'm ok with that. That's the way it's always been.

But, this NIL stuff. I surrender. The joy I had watching college football.....and I will still watch.....and I will still cheer......I'm not going to be one of those people who says they're through and you know damn well they're still watching. I'll be watching.

But, it's never going to be the same. And it sucks. It truly does.

It will not bring me the same level of joy it once did.

But, as you follow recruiting and the portal, it is utter madness. And one can say it's always been the case with recruits and money, but that's hogwash. It's never been close to this.

You've got portal numbers of anywhere from 10-20 players and recruiting classes of 20-25. Half the roster will be at the school for a year. You can't even get excited about recruiting because no one knows if the player is willing to wait two years to see the field.

It will never, ever be the same. Everyone will adapt because that's what you have to do to survive.

But, this isn't good.

This is a sentiment which will be shared by many, and it is what the NCAA fought hard to protect against... not because they don't want athletes to be treated fairly and compensated for use of their names and likenesses, but because it will open the floodgates to abuses and randomly buying players away from rival teams. It will diminish the popularity of the product.