There's an old saying...

There's an old saying...
by Wass (2023-06-05 15:46:18)

In reply to: Its interesting that the law will require 50/50 split of the posted by 84david

...be careful what you wish for; you might just get it! The 50/50 split could backfire on Cali. Once they pass a law to pay athletes a stipend, the rest of the nation will too. The problem arises when 50 states have 50 different laws, and some states my not distribute the paychecks in such an equal manner. If there is no uniform way of paying athletes, some schools will pay more to lure in better players in the revenue sports. Then anything goes! If the athletes are now paid employees, why not just let them be players on the sports that produce revenue for the university and not force them to go to class and work towards a degree? An even better way to get better players! Further, since they aren't technically "students" anymore but employees, you won't have to worry about a player staying academically eligible nor deal with those pesky entrance requirements. And you won't have to worry about applying for a 5th year. What does it even mean to be a 5th year senior anymore when you aren't even a student? I am sure the university paycheck and NIL money will be pretty good, so if you don't go pro, just stay where you are. You aren't a student anymore. I imagine such "contracts" will be year to year, so, since you aren't a student, the university can toss you out when the season is over. Now, I follow admit that this scenario is pretty ludicrous but I could see some of it happening in some way. Maybe I've had too many chemo meds, but college sports are going to look very different in 10 years (or less!).

What you just descibed

Is essentially the euro club football setup, which would be perfect...

For a minor league.

But has no place relating to college athletics.

With every step forward, I think more and more that the ivy league has it right with their "no scholarships" mantra, where sports are played for enjoyment and school spirit.

My fear is...

...that there athletes will no longer be students at all, but merely employees who have nothing to do with what a university is for. How far does this go? Does it become ludicrous where players are traded or have their "contract" sold for cash and a player to be named later? I'm sure the networks have an idea of what they want and are flexing their muscles directing conference "realignment" (the Pac-10 is clearly not part of it). And we are definately seeing what people like Saban want. As to the end game? Good question, but I am sure I will have lost interest long beforehand.

among other reasons, this is why Saban is advocating

following the NFL model of revenue splitting and collective bargaining. Too many moving parts.

There is almost some irony to this

Saban has gotten exactly (or almost exactly) the kind of system he wants. Force players out that he no longer wants, dip into the a wide open transfer portal to be able to poach another team's star player, pay players, etc. But when someone beats him at his own game, he can't stand it and suddenly wants sort of control or limits to it. This all started when lucrative TV contracts were signed, injects large amounts of money into universities. Then the universities did not want to share that cash with anyone, including the athletes whose NIL they were using to make even more money. On top of the 3rd party NIL money, they are going to pay players. If they had fairly compensated the players for using their NIL out of univeristy coffers rather than an unregulated 3rd party fund, things would likely be different. But ESPN will certainly be happy as will the sports book folks.

Yeah, I wonder what he would be willing to give up

in exchange for players getting paid and NIL being a thing of the past?

Would he give up on his roster management? Guarantee 4 years of a scholarship without being able to run guys off? Be willing to have transfers have to sit out a year? Share revenue with other (lower tier) programs?

NFL owners have to give up a decent amount of stuff in order to maintain order in their system, otherwise teams like Green Bay, Jacksonville, etc. would go bankrupt.