Seems to me everyone is coming at it from the ass end

First, I hate the word deserve. Nobody deserves anything. You get what you demand.

Second, take all compensation restrictions off the table. Schools and boosters can write any offer they want to sign any athlete to play any sport. Athletes should have competent representation that has passed the necessary licensing similar to that required of NBA and NFL agents. Write and enforce rules about fraud and academics, tampering, etc. which can serve to protect players and keep the schools at least as honest as they currently are about the academic mission.

It's really not that hard. There is an entire page of posts about worth and value and appropriate restrictions. Who are we to say worth or value. Should the 85th man on the roster "deserve" anything? Maybe, maybe not. No different than the 12th man on an NBA team. But, if they were able to fairly contract for the services then it's a moot point. Maybe for the vast majority of players, the best offer they receive will be a 4 year scholarship. Maybe the top 20 players take so much of the pie that #50-85 no longer receive full scholarships or any scholarship at all. Maybe women's gymnastics and volleyball and tennis and down the line no longer have scholarships to offer or the ability to play in conference matches from coast to coast. Who the fuck cares?! If you do care then please explain to me how it's fair that some athletes should be expected to subsidize other athletes.

If Notre Dame wants to play it like the Cubs and argue for a "home town" discount to market values because of the "added value of the brand" then so be it. Notre Dame is free to contract how'd they like relative to how successful they want the on-field product to be. I'd argue that if they want it to be national championship quality then they are going to need to spend the money acquiring talent. Of course, a middling playoff team could, and probably would, be far more profitable for the University and is probably the route they would take.