It's A Mess and It'll Get Worse

[RockyMTblue2]

What is it? The booster industry exploiting NIL to pay athletes to attend a certain school.

"NCAA rules prohibit athletes from taking money as a recruiting inducement or as a reward for their athletic performance. However, the broadly written rules have made it difficult for the NCAA to separate deals made by private businesses for an athlete's services off the field from deals made with the intent of securing an athlete's services on the field.

An entire industry has emerged in that gray area. Dozens of businesses known as collectives have opened their doors since last July. Most of the collectives have slightly different approaches to how they do business, but generally they seek to collect money from boosters or fans and then find ways to channel it to athletes at their chosen school through NIL deals."

"Member schools received new guidelines Monday saying that boosters or collectives who contact recruits or sign athletes to contracts that are contingent upon a player's attendance at a particular school are breaking NCAA rules."

I suspect policing will be hard and very variable.

NCAA issues 'reasonable' NIL booster guidelines

I'd love to see an audit of Phil Knight's Oregon NIL entity.

Phil Knight And Former Nike Execs Launch Oregon-Focused NIL Company

Phil Knight, along with other Oregon alums and donors, are starting a new NIL company focused on Oregon student athletes. Sabrina Ionescu will serve as Chief Athlete Officer.

www.forbes.com

 

[Bone Dog]

Geno warned us two years ago.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I support NIL. It had been discussed long enough in advance where the NCAA should have anticipated this. I also believe the integrity of collegiate sports needs to be preserved. Personally, I rarely watch professional team sports because...the outcomes are overly predictable, and millionaires aren't all that hungry or loyal. If it were up to me ...at this point, I would start moving towards a cap total on any deal(s) per season. The more I think about this, especially as it pertains to women's basketball it doesn't make sense that a collegiate player would make more money than WNBA players. And I mean it doesn't make sense...logically. It actually devalues the WNBA...the goal of top collegiate players.

 

[vtcwbuff]

The box has been opened and the evils are just starting to emerge. No way will they ever be returned to the box.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I support NIL. It had been discussed long enough in advance where the NCAA should have anticipated this. I also believe the integrity of collegiate sports needs to be preserved. Personally, I rarely watch professional team sports because...the outcomes are overly predictable, and millionaires aren't all that hungry or loyal. If it were up to me ...at this point, I would start moving towards a cap total on any deal(s) per season. The more I think about this, especially as it pertains to women's basketball it doesn't make sense that a collegiate player would make more money than WNBA players. And I mean it doesn't make sense...logically. It actually devalues the WNBA...the goal of top collegiate players.

It's called capitalism and there is a ton more interest in college ball than the WNBA. I support NIL too, but absolutely oppose this boosterism phenomenon a/k/a organized bribery.

 

[Alydar]

It's called capitalism and there is a ton more interest in college ball than the WNBA. I support NIL too, but absolutely oppose this boosterism phenomenon a/k/a organized bribery.

I'm right with you. It's a seedy activity but has been going on forever. At least making it legal forces it out into the open where administrators have a hard time pretending not to see.

 

[TeamFirst!]

It's part of the game now and frankly, it potentially could become the biggest factor in recruitment. Look at Oregon. Nike spends $6 billion a year on sports sponsorship. Billion with a "B" folks. NIL is throw away money for them. Pocket change. Regional companies and alumni will create situations where the entire starting 5 of some teams will be millionaires. Division 1 athletics is a job, They should get paid. It will stratify college basketball even more between the haves and the have nots. Imagine what the transfer portal will look like when maybe a million dollars is involved with some players. UNLV may become the women's basketball powerhouse because of gambling interests.

 

[sun]

In the end, the pay for play issue will either be resolved by the courts or by Congress.
Congress is aware of the problem and is studying it, and the NCAA also has a legal strategy in the event that it sanctions a school and it ends up in court.
They may need to fight against some problematic state NIL statutes.

NCAA Ban on Booster-Backed NIL Collectives Invites Legal Chaos

The NCAA might soon restart its war on name, image and likeness. The organization, which until July 2021 aggressively forbade athletes from enjoying NIL opportunities, is considering the adoption of guidelines to sharpen the lines between NIL and pay-for-play. As described by Sports Illustrated...

www.yahoo.com

 

[LwrcasefaN]

It's called capitalism and there is a ton more interest in college ball than the WNBA. I support NIL too, but absolutely oppose this boosterism phenomenon a/k/a organized bribery.

I hear ya. I do. Prostitution is capitalism too, but there are limits to capitalism, especially if you can cite harm or damages. Some player will test the limits, like striking a deal with FansOnly or some other...and then some practical reigns will all of a sudden appear. I can say with 100% certainty...if it becomes anything like NBA purchased super teams...I'll revisit my bucket list real quick.

 

[Bone Dog]

Lots of interesting points here. For me the problem is figuring out what athletics really have to do with education in the first place. Perhaps it's just that exercise is good for the mind, but that's a long way from the NCAA. The present form of collegiate sports seems very far from having any educational purpose, and may even undermine education. But we all -- me included -- love watching them.

NIL threatens the integrity of intercollegiate sports if it devolves into paid recruitment, only because it will probably stratify the conferences even more than they already are. It may even make some pro sports leagues look even more ridiculous than they already do. And if it leads to other for-profit interference in competition, like point shaving, it might even threaten the integrity of sports betting.

But what if NIL-based recruitment actually allowed weaker conferences some leverage in recruitment and led to an even more competitive environment? Would it be good then? We all know, I think, that colleges have been profiting from the inadequately compensated labor of student-athletes. From this point of view, NIL looks like a much needed correction of a longstanding injustice. It's in this context that I wonder what sort of account of collegiate sports we ought to give. Why should we, or the federal government or any state government, really care one way or the other about NIL and its consequences?

 

[Cuango]

I support NIL. It had been discussed long enough in advance where the NCAA should have anticipated this. I also believe the integrity of collegiate sports needs to be preserved. Personally, I rarely watch professional team sports because...the outcomes are overly predictable, and millionaires aren't all that hungry or loyal. If it were up to me ...at this point, I would start moving towards a cap total on any deal(s) per season. The more I think about this, especially as it pertains to women's basketball it doesn't make sense that a collegiate player would make more money than WNBA players. And I mean it doesn't make sense...logically. It actually devalues the WNBA...the goal of top collegiate players.

Unfortunately, the cat is out of the bag! It’s a little late to start talking about the “integrity of collegiate sports” now. I doubt they can put the genie back in the bottle. The truth is, bureaucracy and money corrupt everything they touch. It was bad enough with just the bureaucracy but now they’ve added the money into the equation. I see very little hope the patient can be saved. I realize (before it’s pointed out) that money was involved with the bureaucracy as well, but at least it was somewhat controlled and regulated. I would have been better pleased with some sort of stipend rather than this. I predict we will be dealing with many more unforeseen consequences before it’s over.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Legally the rights of the individual appear to me to be driving this. A top player like Paige could, hypothetically, sue the system and probably win. We are America. Individual human rights and freedom are supposed to be paramount. Ask any billionaire how that works and I'm sure that most of them will be all for individual freedom. They support it with their cash and Congress listens.

Unfortunately in many ways, we swim in their pool. Play in their playground. American capitalism skews towards the rich. The rich pull most of the legal strings and the legal system plays their music. Everything about it. I could see some modifications and controls but the cat is out of the bag.

 

[jchusky]

Legally the rights of the individual appear to me to be driving this. A top player like Paige could, hypothetically, sue the system and probably win. We are America. Individual human rights and freedom are supposed to be paramount. Ask any billionaire how that works and I'm sure that most of them will be all for individual freedom. They support it with their cash and Congress listens.

Unfortunately in many ways, we swim in their pool. Play in their playground. American capitalism skews towards the rich. The rich pull most of the legal strings and the legal system plays their music. Everything about it. I could see some modifications and controls but the cat is out of the bag.

dude I have no idea what you are talking about. What does a college player have to do with the system? They are college athletes, they're not professionals.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

It's called capitalism and there is a ton more interest in college ball than the WNBA. I support NIL too, but absolutely oppose this boosterism phenomenon a/k/a organized bribery.

Simply put, the NCAA's racket of taking in billions while giving the athletes who generate those billions nothing is dying. These college athletes are pros, and should make money for playing as pros. Nowhere else on the planet is there a phenomenon of big-time pro sports masquerading as amateur college athletics.

 

[vtcwbuff]

The current musical chairs portal mess is going to get worse. I also wonder about locker room dissension. How come she gets all the NIL money and I get nothing?"

 

[Cuango]

I agree at some level with many of the above but am afraid the “cure” is going to kill the patient!

 

[TeamFirst!]

dude I have no idea what you are talking about. What does a college player have to do with the system? They are college athletes, they're not professionals.

Why can't college players be "free agents" if there is money involved? Why can't they make their decision based on money and if someone offers more why can't they switch teams? They are US citizens and they have access to the legal system, and the NCAA knows that.

 

[LoboDays]

The Portal and NIL makes them free agents. I doubt that this will change. The NCAA can issue “guidelines” but they won’t change what will happen in major college sports.

 

[TCC Kid]

What is it? The booster industry exploiting NIL to pay athletes to attend a certain school.

"NCAA rules prohibit athletes from taking money as a recruiting inducement or as a reward for their athletic performance. However, the broadly written rules have made it difficult for the NCAA to separate deals made by private businesses for an athlete's services off the field from deals made with the intent of securing an athlete's services on the field.

An entire industry has emerged in that gray area. Dozens of businesses known as collectives have opened their doors since last July. Most of the collectives have slightly different approaches to how they do business, but generally they seek to collect money from boosters or fans and then find ways to channel it to athletes at their chosen school through NIL deals."

"Member schools received new guidelines Monday saying that boosters or collectives who contact recruits or sign athletes to contracts that are contingent upon a player's attendance at a particular school are breaking NCAA rules."

I suspect policing will be hard and very variable.

NCAA issues 'reasonable' NIL booster guidelines

I'd love to see an audit of Phil Knight's Oregon NIL entity.

Phil Knight And Former Nike Execs Launch Oregon-Focused NIL Company

Phil Knight, along with other Oregon alums and donors, are starting a new NIL company focused on Oregon student athletes. Sabrina Ionescu will serve as Chief Athlete Officer.

www.forbes.com

Well Rocky it is a great idea to have boosters point NIL kids towards Uconn. It is really criminal if they point them towards Baylor, Texas, ND, SC, UCLA, Oregon. In the later case it should be criminal
@RockyMTblue2 ---I saw your Youtube Video telling me to stay away from Montana. You sound like me when all those city folks moved to country Ct and then complained about the chicken, horse or cow smells and got ordinance's to back them up. Obviously, Montana isn't for me.

 

[TCC Kid]

It's called capitalism and there is a ton more interest in college ball than the WNBA. I support NIL too, but absolutely oppose this boosterism phenomenon a/k/a organized bribery.

If you allow one, you will often have the other. MONEY corrupts and lots of money corrupts fully, it works with schools, businesses, governments, MONEY must be banned..

 

[TCC Kid]

The current musical chairs portal mess is going to get worse. I also wonder about locker room dissension. How come she gets all the NIL money and I get nothing?"

The end results of good people doing things that sound wonderful are always predictable but rarely believed until it happens. Fairness isn't always fair.

 

[TCC Kid]

Legally the rights of the individual appear to me to be driving this. A top player like Paige could, hypothetically, sue the system and probably win. We are America. Individual human rights and freedom are supposed to be paramount. Ask any billionaire how that works and I'm sure that most of them will be all for individual freedom. They support it with their cash and Congress listens.

Unfortunately in many ways, we swim in their pool. Play in their playground. American capitalism skews towards the rich. The rich pull most of the legal strings and the legal system plays their music. Everything about it. I could see some modifications and controls but the cat is out of the bag.

I'm all for MY individual freedoms, but truly believer yours should be restricted. Freedoms are restricted in many many ways. Unrestricted Free America is a fable taught in school , learned in life.

 

[LoboDays]

If great minds think alike and fools seldom differ, who can we believe?

 

[Skeets]

Get into your time machine and go back just a couple of years. That was the end of the "age of innocents". I'm a capitalist and I don't have a problem with college kids making a few bucks, even those on full scholarships getting a free ride. But this has spun out of control. I fear that the slimiest programs will be the most successful. Is that what we want? Maybe what was slimy yesterday will be "acceptable" tomorrow. Very sad...

 

[oldude]

While I will acknowledge that NIL has the potential to be manipulated by cynical boosters and coaches, the idea that this type of practice is somehow new makes me chuckle. Whether it’s payouts from boosters or shoe companies to recruits, shadowy middlemen shopping top recruits, or coaches arranging for “stand-ins” to take standardized tests for marginal students, this type of stuff has been around at least going back to the Dark Ages when I played college ball.

One example should suffice. When John Wooden, the legendary Wizard of Westwood, was winning his 10 national championships at UCLA in the 60’s & 70’s he was hailed as the epitome of what a college coach should be: honest, straightforward and dignified. But if you looked behind the curtain, there was Sam Gilbert, a former UCLA dropout, who made a fortune as a contractor during the construction boom in LA. Gilbert insured with his wallet that one HS star after another made their way to Westwood to play for Wooden.

I have no illusions about NIL. But at least there is the potential for top college athletes like Paige to establish professional representation and then secure compensation without hiding everything under the table.