the games cannot be played without the rest of the guys--no, really, they have rules and everything. I wouldn't lie to you, Irishdog80.

without Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs just went out and got three new receivers that in total were paid less than what Tyreek wanted, but they got another Super Bowl win with "replacement level" players. Patrick Mahomes was irreplaceable and that's why he got the big bucks. Most of the rest of the guys...not so much.

The game goes on. Players will be found. The 2 and 3 star guys do not matter as much and are replaceable. The stars matter. Put Mac Jones, DaVonte Smith and Najee Harris on Notre Dame in 2019 and Notre Dame probably wins the game. Difference makers matter not "replacement level players".

And wake up. It does matter who they are tuning in for...have you watched the XFL this year? Neither have I.

years, pushes the 4 and 5 stars at his position to keep working hard, pushes the guy lined up against him in practice every day to get better but rarely plays because there the coach recruited better players is overpaid.

Got it.

35K and higher. If they want more, perform at a higher level. It is the sports world. Players are paid for performance. If you want to see the truly grossly underpaid athletes, do a quick review of minor league baseball, hockey and other sports players. They are not even paid minimum wage and can barely cover their expenses.

Let each school (franchise) decide how to spend its revenue-share-based payroll.

If Texas wants to spend $8M a year on a DE, great...but that may mean they can't afford to pay a couple 2- or 3-star recruits more than $50,000 per year.

But maybe that 3-star recruit can go to Kansas State or Michigan State and get $100,000 per year.

Or maybe they can't, and that's just the way the market has been set, just like the NFL.

Above and beyond their full tuition, room and board, etc.

Depth is important plus kids are a bit of an unknown when they first come out of high school.

I'd assume a minimum salary would be set up and an overall team cap for major CFB programs.

Where would you cut off the requirement? With your number, the average D1 Program would need to allot $10-15 million for player "salaries".

CFB programs that average $80M+ annual revenue - in other words, P5 schools. Or a high % of them.

average wage $350-$400K which is on top of the full scholarship.

"non-revenue" sports with the revenue they take in from football, basketball, hockey...whatever...depending upon the school. Most of the Power 5 can do it, what happens to the ones that can't. Do they drop sports? Do some conferences become the Big East of old and drop football? How do the dominos fall?

But I would anticipate collateral damage.

sucked up to the top tier programs and the lower level programs play increasingly meaningless games. Nobody watches the XFL, by the way--the future of the have nots.

just like the XFL.

And he would find no greater value in a hypothetical free-market minor league system.

I disagree with that.

What they should receive is a different quesiton as you might imagine I think it should be more than the scholarship.

minor league baseball players about fair compensation. Many had the choice to play minor league or play college. College is the better paid alternative unless they are a big signing bonus guy. If not, tuition, room and board plus other perks is living in style versus sharing a low rent apartment in some out of the way locale.

When discussing the football and to a lesser extent BB now they do not have that choice.

Which is kind of the point here. The absolute worst player on the UT or OU roster is still worth more to the program (on a revenue generation basis) than the cost of in-state tuition at either of those schools.

For one, performance is only imperfectly correlated to revenue generation. So

Second, the worth of an individual is not measured by imagining a hypothetical universe in which all individuals at his same level would be eliminated. It's measured by the marginal value the individual provides. And the 75th-85th scholarship guys on the roster generally provide very little value either in winning games or generating revenue.

Third, there are also several factors to look at in weighing the value of the degree. States have an incentive to price the degrees at lower than market value by subsidies that benefit in-state students. Most studies would put UT value at well above its cost. And for players that would not be able to be admitted to the schools without the scholarship, that value is considerably greater. Flagship state school educations are quite valuable.

good enough to play. Interesting. What if another less talented player had their spot? I can think of thousands of players that would love a full ride scholarship. Would the results for the program change? Would less people go to or watch the game? Impact on revenue generation is the true driving force.

Just like the other 4 major leagues do it. Back out cost of scholarships.

-concessions, merchandise, ticket sales, parking, and TV revenue.

Let the team/school decide which players get what. Salary caps at aggregate, minimum player salary.