I would submit it's better for some players and may eventually be better for most players, but it's not better for all players. What's happening is that marginal kids who might've been able to hang on in a program and get a degree are now up on the sidelines when they enter the portal in the hopes of making NIL windfall. You can argue that that is capitalism at play, and thus "fair", but this isn't some beatific benefit for the players. It's an opportunity for the very best to get a huge windfall and the players to get some pocket change that comes at the expense of the marginal kids.
Capitalism is also in play in the scenarios bemoaning the status of folks having to work two jobs to make ends meet. It's why, when I was in demand at the top of my field, I could switch employers every two years and negotiate for a significant bump in pay & benefits. Skills are either in demand and paid a premium, or skills (or lack thereof) are a commodity and compensated as such. r
At any rate, an argument that says capitalism is good for players, but coaches shouldn't whine while some folks struggle from payday to payday is a crap argument. It's all dictated by capitalistic market forces.
As Alec Baldwin said to Mark Wahlberg: "The world needs plenty of bartenders."
FTR, I say this as someone who, when I later owned my own business, had to go on food stamps for a month or so in order to make payroll during the 08-09 recession. Nobody to blame but me. I could've taken a menial job and made more per hour and not have the burden of working every single weekend and taking my job home with me every single night, but I'd put in my time in corporate so I didn't have to work for anyone but myself.