No one is going to give these guys a big check - or help pay the rent in ten years - for sticking around somewhere if things don’t work out. No one gives a shite about the fate of the talented backup QB who might have shined elsewhere but only saw mop up duty behind a Heisman winner and #1 pick at State U.

There’s a difference between “can’t handle adversity” and going where you think you can make the most of your very fleeting opportunity at generational wealth.

I think most fans lean toward the “can’t handle adversity” side because… they… just… don’t… like… NIL and the portal and are bitter about it.

This post was edited on 5/1/26 at 7:05 am

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Posted by Che Boludo

Member since May 2009

21896 posts

Posted on 5/1/26 at 7:12 am to Faurot fodder

quote:
Man those were the days weren't they? Now, instead of us getting to see all these great players sit the bench, we have to watch them play against each other. Sure do miss the old days.....(eyeroll)

The Uber talented underclassmen still played young. Most of the other top talent of the era developed their raw talent into NFL potential, a stronger work ethic, dedication toward team goals, college degrees and grew a bit of humility and school pride along the way. Yes, most of us miss the "old days."

We are in the entitled mercenary age. It is much less fun in many respects from a college sports fan perspective.

This post was edited on 5/1/26 at 7:13 am

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Posted by RollTide1987

Baltimore, MD

Member since Nov 2009

70993 posts

Posted on 5/1/26 at 7:50 am to Che Boludo

quote:
The Uber talented underclassmen still played young.

Yep. Of the 47 players drafted in the first round during the Nick Saban Era, only six of them redshirted their freshman year. The rest of them either saw significant playing time or started from their true freshman season.

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Posted by Globetrotter747

Member since Sep 2017

5649 posts

Posted on 5/1/26 at 7:56 am to Gatorbait2008

quote:
Hoarding talent. Playing keep away from other programs.

quote:
I mean imagine most great teams in the past would have sig more depth.

This probably peaked in the 2018-2021 years when Bama, LSU, Clemson, and UGA had historically great teams consecutively.

In 1995, the year of everyone’s beloved 1995 Nebraska, only 14 players from teams in the final AP top ten poll were selected in the first 100 picks the following spring. Only four were first rounders. The 2019 top ten had 45 players selected in the first 100. A ridiculous 20 were first rounders.

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Posted by Globetrotter747

Member since Sep 2017

5649 posts

Posted on 5/1/26 at 8:10 am to Che Boludo

quote:
We are in the entitled mercenary age.

It could be equally said that we are in the age of entitled fans and coaches. After all, they facilitate everything the players are able to do due to an obsession with winning and fat contracts.

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Posted by RollTide1987

Baltimore, MD

Member since Nov 2009

70993 posts

Posted on 5/1/26 at 8:30 am to Globetrotter747

quote:
It could be equally said that we are in the age of entitled fans and coaches. After all, they facilitate everything the players are able to do due to an obsession with winning and fat contracts.

Both sides have a point. Fans and coaches have gotten more entitled in the chase for titles, with massive coach contracts and buyouts proving it. Schools fire guys after a couple mediocre seasons and owe them $20-60+ million to walk away, all because boosters and fans treat every year like a natty-or-bust crisis. That's real.

But the "entitled mercenary" shift with players feels different in kind, not just degree. Pre-NIL/portal, the system was explicitly built around amateurism and some pretense of loyalty to the school and education. Players were "student-athletes," and the product sold itself on regional rivalries, tradition, and kids playing for the name on the front of the jersey. Now it's closer to a semi-pro free agency league where top guys treat programs like one-year gigs for the bag. Portal entries have spiked, NIL collectives act as de facto payrolls, and loyalty is optional. We've seen players flip for bigger deals even after signing big extensions, which creates roster chaos that fans then complain about.

The old system had built-in guardrails (eligibility rules, transfer penalties) that aligned incentives toward team-building and school affinity. NIL + unlimited portal removed many of those, turning athletes into free agents while schools/coaches still bear most of the institutional and fan accountability. It's not symmetrical.

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Posted by RunningJacket

Member since Dec 2008

818 posts

Posted on 5/1/26 at 8:40 am to RollTide1987

All this arguing is just dumb. Players are the exact same. The rules have changed so players, coaches, and fans always adapt to the rules. Players in the past were stuck so they might as well be what some called “loyal” because there was no other option. If today’s rules were in effect years ago you would have seen similar movement as today. Human nature has not changed.

And I have no issue with a person changing his life by trying to make more money or outright g themselves in a better position. Parents try and out their kids in the best day care or the best magnet school or find a good private school. Does that make them bad people by not being “loyal” to the neighborhood school?

Every team in America will have 11 players on the field for each play this fall. If you aren’t cheering and rooting for your 11 guys then that’s a you issue. The sport is healthier than ever with talented players dispersed over more rosters which draws more interest. Sure, the power teams of today are nothing like the power teams of the past and that is a good thing for the sport while it sucks for a handful of teams who now are mere mortals.

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