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Message: [QUOTE="Flipside, post: 5351223, member: 13256"] I hear you on the “for the good of the game” part, but if we’re being honest, the monopoly didn’t [I]start[/I] with NIL. It’s been alive and well for decades. Big programs have always had the best facilities, biggest TV deals, most national exposure, and the deepest pockets for “creative” recruiting. The only difference now is that the [I]players[/I] finally get a sliver of the same free-market benefits that coaches, ADs, shoe companies, and TV networks have enjoyed for years. Competition isn’t dying, it’s just shifting. Smaller schools can now build brands around star personalities, hometown heroes, or innovative collectives. And if anything, NIL has forced big programs to show their cards in the open instead of pretending “amateurism” was fair. Fans might grumble, but let’s be real, people said the same thing when free agency hit the pros. The games didn’t die; they just evolved. The scoreboard still matters, upsets still happen, and talent still wins. It’s just that now, the players can finally afford dinner after the game. [/QUOTE]