Matt Rhule seems to be building Nebraska with an approach that has always worked. How does it work, however, when college football is in the midst of drastic change?
I suffer bouts of despair when I extrapolate the professionalisation trend in college football. The NCFL (National Collegiate Football League) is not something I really want to deal with.
And it bothers me that it's being called name image likeness, when it really is just pay for play. I haven't seen any billboards with football players on them...
That's a pretty big issue, and why this current setup is destined to fail and be replaced by something else.
Caitlin Clark is probably our best example right now. She reportedly made seven figures in NIL deals this season. To me, that was real NIL. She had real value in the real-world market, so real companies like State Farm, Hy-Vee, etc. got on board. That's how this piece of it always should've worked.
While Clark isn't solely responsible for the bonkers numbers the NCAA Tournament did this year, she was certainly a big draw. The broadcast partners, which had already purchased the rights to the games from the NCAA and the conferences, still enjoyed all of those benefits.
I'm not a legal expert, but I look at that and say "how long can it be before players start suing for a piece of the real pie?" The NCAA had to open the NIL door, but doing that did nothing to address the fundamental conflict of monetized amateur sports that has existed since the NCAA's founding. In fact, opening the door only highlights the inequality (and comes with some nasty side effects like creating a race where third-party companies we know next to nothing about are constantly racing to pay athletes more than their actual market value).
I really don't see any way off this path that isn't employee status, and salaries, for athletes in the big TV sports.
I suffer bouts of despair when I extrapolate the professionalisation trend in college football. The NCFL (National Collegiate Football League) is not something I really want to deal with.
These kids have few tools to be professionals. Many have never seen the amounts of money being offered, I fear there will be many sad tales to come.
And it bothers me that it's being called name image likeness, when it really is just pay for play. I haven't seen any billboards with football players on them...
That's a pretty big issue, and why this current setup is destined to fail and be replaced by something else.
Caitlin Clark is probably our best example right now. She reportedly made seven figures in NIL deals this season. To me, that was real NIL. She had real value in the real-world market, so real companies like State Farm, Hy-Vee, etc. got on board. That's how this piece of it always should've worked.
While Clark isn't solely responsible for the bonkers numbers the NCAA Tournament did this year, she was certainly a big draw. The broadcast partners, which had already purchased the rights to the games from the NCAA and the conferences, still enjoyed all of those benefits.
I'm not a legal expert, but I look at that and say "how long can it be before players start suing for a piece of the real pie?" The NCAA had to open the NIL door, but doing that did nothing to address the fundamental conflict of monetized amateur sports that has existed since the NCAA's founding. In fact, opening the door only highlights the inequality (and comes with some nasty side effects like creating a race where third-party companies we know next to nothing about are constantly racing to pay athletes more than their actual market value).
I really don't see any way off this path that isn't employee status, and salaries, for athletes in the big TV sports.