NIL is a SHAM.
I keep wondering how the two entities that have been profiting billions of dollars a year, the TV networks and the Universities, have somehow slithered out of being part of the monetization of college athletes? It has somehow fallen solely on outside support and donations from fans and donors, how TF did that happen?
ESPN, FOX, NBC etc ALL profiting BILLIONS of dollars a year off the backs of college athletes for 50-60 years. All the major universities, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars over a few years, building their athletic and educational infrastructure off the backs of college athletes who until recently would be kicked off the team if someone bought them a cheeseburger.
How have these two entities escaped even being part of, if not completely responsible for the monetization of college athletes? Why are we all sheep, not questioning this and accepting this as the new normal because now the athletes are at least making some money, even thought the two biggest profiteers get off scot-free?
Are they paid actors who should be compensated as such. How much do actors on sitcoms and other TV series get paid from the networks? Why are they different?
Just a thought, call me crazy.
A free ride is more than the revenue generated by 90% of college athletes.
Why not let players get drafted and paid by pro teams while in college? The pro team gets the benefit of player getting game experience and growing - treating college as a minor league of sorts. Watching college hockey lately it seems like nearly every guy has been drafted by a team and it hasn't hurt the sport, now just force those NHL teams to pay a salary if they want to keep the rights to those players.
It’s a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.
Imagine if the NFL and NBA and MLB and NHL were run in a way where they still make all of the money they do . . . but fans and doners were expected to pay the players' salaries.
That would be a batshit crazy unsustainable system.
Yet, that exactly describes college sports right now. Insane.
It is these two entities that brought all this NIL nonsense onto us in the first place.
As you have pointed out, they have made tons of money off of college sports. They could've gotten together and worked out some sort of plan to compensate the players, but greed snuck in (mostly the universities) and nope, they wanted it all. Now we are in the Wild Wild West, and have unproven college kids getting paid more than pros. Everyone was concerned about boosters paying athletes, all the NIL did was make that legal.
If they wanted to, they could've made it happen, just like they got together and got the new playoff system together, but wait a minute, the playoff system is just another way to get more money for their pockets.