re: Nick's Real Concern

Saban realizes that Alabama and the majority of SEC schools do not hail from locations with tremendous corporate home office locations to be able to wield unlimited corporate dollars for NIL deals over the long haul. The exceptions being UT, A&M and, perhaps UGA. God forbid a guy like Elon Musk or Michael Dell suddenly getting involved in the play on behalf of Austin based corporations. It’s not a matter of simply having a plant that manufactures and generates tax dollars in one’s state, you have to have the decision makers invested sufficiently to be willing to sprinkle $$$tens of millions annually to buy the best players in the most significant sports.

My belief is that the NCAA lifting the 25 signee limit for the next two years helps to placate any whim by a power like Saban from bolting the sport because it allows him to purge those recruits who didn’t live up to their hype the first time around and stop the entire sport to be dominated solely by the schools that generate the greatest companies AND also happen to have a tremendous passion for their Alma Mater’s athletic programs.

Just having NIL as the sole source could tremendously change the shape of the landscape at places like Georgia Tech, Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, Michigan, University of Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Penn State and can you imagine if the Ivy League schools like Harvard, Penn and Cornell start to jump on this bandwagon.

I've been saying that Texas and Texas 8&4 are poised to become the new SEC powers if the status quo is allowed to continue. Saban will get fed up with not being able to stack the deck in his favor and retire.

While you were studying in air conditioned comfort in the Library those guys were doing two a days in terrible heat and humidity. Yeah the facilities are great but can you seriously say that the total monetary benefit of all the things you said come close to the millions the coaches and school are taking in? Where they have gone wrong is NOT letting the schools pay the players. It would be much better if the school was making direct, regulated payments than the ridiculous system that is in place now.

Give all the players a salary so that everyone will benefit not just the stars. Make it some percentage of the AD's total revenue. Nothing outrageous, just a nice amount that will allow them to buy clothes, give some to their families, etc.

I am in favor of a system that keeps college football somewhat intact. College football is not a job!

Many people played it just for an education.

The only reason that has changed is because TV revenue became enormous.

It has become the NFL minor league and in return we have a team with many players that have no loyalty to the University they play for.

The system is gonna break at some point and maybe already has.

Besides Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, there is also a TON of old oil money in Midland and Tyler area.

quote:

---

ust to be clear, you are in favor of a maximum wage for certain people, with the beneficiaries being other people who will get rich off their labor, and fans who will get the kind of entertainment to which they are accustomed.

---

why do you think there are salary caps in pro sports leagues? Sports leagues can't be a pure free-market endeavor (and I'm a staunch free-market guy).

If it's all wide open, the big money pro teams (and big booster colleges) will buy all the best players, and the competition on the field suffers. Once that happens, fans will abandon the sport.

Thus the need for salary limitations of some kind.

A few points:
The LONG hours of athletes toiling away argument, to me, goes away when you look up the rules governing just how many hours these students can work at their sport. In other words, schools have been turning a blind eye to the rules over this for decades. Thus the everyone is cheating argument is proven again. Besides, it sounds simple to me. If you want all this stuff for free, you gotta work hard! I like it.
The schools are raking in the cash!! If so, then why do most all say their AD is losing money?? All that equipment and travel costs $$$. And don’t argue Title IX blah blah. That’s here to stay. Losing $$ in sports is the cost of doing business in the college world. So don’t give me the wealth isn’t shared argument. Coaches make a ton of money?? Who cares?? How many people make minimum wage under a CEO who makes millions?? A LOT.

So yeah, these athletes get a lot in return for their efforts. I really would like to see a dollar value placed on all the “free” goods and services received by college football players over the course of 4 years. Then throw in an injured athlete and all the health care AND rehab he gets. Dollars!! I think many here would be appalled at the true dollar value.

FYI: Many of these football players have Medicaid as their health insurance. Translation, they typically have little access to local “star” doctors, healthcare facilities and rehab sites. Many are stuck in the University Medical centers. Oh but they’re college athletes!! So what?? Does that mean the deserve care delivered totally different than all the other Medicaid recipients out there?? Just saying.

quote:

---

why do you think there are salary caps in pro sports leagues?

---

Because both parties agreed to them. Next!

Bama broke just like LSU