Is college football near the end as we know it.

[IM79]

I think eventually there will be a new version of DlAA that they could name FBS ll and teams like Georgia Tech would be in it.

Well, assuming the majority of TV revenue stays in the new FBS I with the big dogs, how are we going to pay off all of the outstanding AA debt? I think we are stuck trying to compete in the ACC to get the TV and bowl revenue to pay our bills.

We could become a Vandy. Or, we could decide to complete with the big dogs as much as we are able. We can never be totally like them but I'm hopeful the new guy can get us at least keep us above the lower and reaching for the top most years.

 

[SteamWhistle]

It will still be lopsided but this Helps Tech more then it hurts it.

 

[SteamWhistle]

For big Blue Chip recruits, they no longer have to go to Bama to make money. They can get paid for their likeliness at Tech. Those saying that we will still be at disadvantage, that’s likely but it still helps us a ton. Just think if every #1 Tech Jersey you saw on gameday said Juanyeh Thomas on it. This will help Tech land recruits that turn down money from boosters and make their own from their likeness.

 

[g0lftime]

I want a 90 jersey to remember big B. He was from my hometown and deserves to be remembered.

 

[bobongo]

For big Blue Chip recruits, they no longer have to go to Bama to make money. They can get paid for their likeliness at Tech. Those saying that we will still be at disadvantage, that’s likely but it still helps us a ton. Just think if every #1 Tech Jersey you saw on gameday said Juanyeh Thomas on it. This will help Tech land recruits that turn down money from boosters and make their own from their likeness.

Hmmm...I like the way you think. Legal money to counter the illegal money they're already paying.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

It’s going to be interesting to watch, but one thing I’ve learned in my 50 years on this earth is that there are always unintended consequences that no one can predict. I don’t think this will work out like the factories and masses think it will for some reason.

One thing bouncing in my mind is the jersey selling thought with large fan bases and the worry that that is where top recruits will go to make money. Take UGA. I’m sure their highest selling jersey would be Fromm and Swift. If money is from sales, would Zeus have signed knowing he’d have to wait till Swift left to be the top seller? Or would he have signed somewhere where he’d be the top guy as a freshman? Plus, take in human jealousy. Will teams like Bama and UGA be able to keep a depth chart like they have now if RB1 makes X amount more than RB2 who is also a 5 star.

And if it just turns into the Wild West of alumni throwing money you’ll see random schools becoming major players just thru alumni cash. Stanford could easily buy any player they wanted. Tim Cook is an Auburn grad. How many players could he buy? Schools like UGA and Bama have huge fan bases but what about schools with much deeper pockets?

 

[Old South Stands]

The big 5 in pro sports, yes including the MLS now, should follow what baseball has done. If you're good enough to be drafted you're drafted. If you still want to go to college then you can't go through the draft process again until you're a junior. Let the LeBron James type kids go, but give the other kids an out. It'll never happen for football, because of the injury risk.

To that I say, I can be working at a gas station at 18 years old and get shot in the leg. I can be driving into the city for work at 21 and get in a horrible car crash. Whats the difference from that and a guy who can run fast tearing up his knee? Life happens and sometimes it sucks. But a college degree and college experience (not the drinking part my Jolly Good Fellows) will go a long way in helping you overcome obstacles in your way.

As you pointed out, the main reason we don't see the draft in football for kids directly out of high school is beacause of injury risk. At 18-20 years old, a kid is in top cardiovascular shape but cannot compete pound for pound with a "full-grown" man. Providing your joints stay healthy, a man keeps getting stronger well into his 30s. That's one of the reasons they quit having the annual college all-star vs. NFL game back in the '70s. The pro guys were just too strong for the college kids. Maybe Alabama could beat the Browns one game out of ten, but that's about it.

If they ever went to a pay system for college athletes (beyond the scholarships they currently give out), that would certainly end college athletics as we know it. Many have suggested here, the Bamas and UGAs of the world might form a quasi pro conference as a direct feeder to the NFL, while other schools formed their own lower tier of football, similar to how the Ivy League now does it.

The older I get, the less and less I like pro sports. It's becoming increasingly removed from the lives of regular, everyday people. Frankly, if college football went pro, I wouldn't watch or support it. I think the NFL is boring, and most of the teams nowadays are pretty much interchangeable, just like NASCAR drivers these days. College football has been moving in that direction for a long time, with all the money and hype and the talking heads on TV. If Tech went to an 'amateur' league with like-minded schools a la the Ivy League, I'd likely still follow it.

 

[IM79]

And if it just turns into the Wild West of alumni throwing money you’ll see random schools becoming major players just thru alumni cash. Stanford could easily buy any player they wanted. Tim Cook is an Auburn grad. How many players could he buy? Schools like UGA and Bama have huge fan bases but what about schools with much deeper pockets?

Our problem is solved, we just need a couple of rich alumni to save us. Surely we have a enough of these guys lying around to keep us competitive.

 

[MWBATL]

Well, we are all complaining about how horrible the NFL is, but they seem to be making a TON of money, so I can only surmise that the rest of America disagrees with us.

Plus, in basketball, it is pretty much that way already. I am not sure how much of a negative it has been to have college basketball turn into semi/pro.

 

[JacketRacket]

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...su-booster-gets-33-months-prison-embezzlement

Seems like the best thread for this?

 

[bobongo]

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...su-booster-gets-33-months-prison-embezzlement

Seems like the best thread for this?

LSU. Good grief, that's about as low as it gets, really. Stealing half a million dollars from sick children. Should have gotten 33 years instead of 33 months.

 

[Boaty1]

For big Blue Chip recruits, they no longer have to go to Bama to make money. They can get paid for their likeliness at Tech. Those saying that we will still be at disadvantage, that’s likely but it still helps us a ton. Just think if every #1 Tech Jersey you saw on gameday said Juanyeh Thomas on it. This will help Tech land recruits that turn down money from boosters and make their own from their likeness.

This law is made to be abused. It’s so short sighted it’s laughable. This will become a free for all with schools going to their boosters having them arrange advertising deals. The schools with the most alumni who own their businesses will be the ones that benefit. The money from the selling of jersey will be chump change for a few and non existent for most. The real money will be guaranteed advertising deals for prospective recruits.

 

[TampaGT]

I don’t think the laws will result in players getting paid. I think what you will see is that players images will not be used in ads and commercials. Other things will be dropped just like the ncaa football video games or like the jerseys you buy always being the #1. The ncaa/schools will make changes so that they can’t get paid for the likeness. Schedules will no longer feature players. If they start getting paid then they will be an employee of the school and then that opens up the school to lawsuits when players get in trouble.

 

[ibeattetris]

I think it is really interesting that all the laws and lawsuits are targeting the NCAA for not letting players be paid (despite being paid via scholarship, stipend, living arrangements, food) while I have not heard of anyone attacking the NFL for its ageist policy of limiting when players may play in the league. How that rule has allowed to exist for so long baffles me.

 

[laoh]

Enforce NCAA and all athletic associations of every school to be truly non-profit. Any profit after expenditures (general overhead, stadium expansion, funding non-football/basketball sports, etc) should go into a pool for grants to students so they don't have to take out such a huge loan that cripple their lives coming out of college.

Yes, pipe dream but I don't believe collegiate athletes should be paid. Look at any other examples of capitalism run amok. Disastrous with the winner take all dichotomy that we're seeing today in our professional lives. We shouldn't be introducing the almighty dollar into collegiate sports. It will destroy it.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

In “Dodd’s Luck” Dodd said the SEC had a limit of 140 scholarships in FB & BB combined. We would not process players out whereas Bama and others would to stay under the limit. So we were in danger of going over the limit.
We asked the league to eliminate the 140 limit and they refused. We had the money and could afford the scholarships but a majority of the schools resented us and said take a hike.
Same today as if ever was. If we want to win big again we are going to have to do a little processing I’m afraid.

Dodd and Harrison made a mistake by not dropping bama off schedule ( not all conference teams played each other then) and replacing them with ole miss, uk, or LSU yearly. His being upset about the SEC not punishing holt was justified, but handled it wrong by taking his marbles and going home.

So we then threw up the false argument about the ship numbers. No he didn’t run players off, but we still had players leave the program for all the other reasons - homesickness, fell in love with girl back home, grades, got tired of football. All the same reasons that some players quit today.

We never had a problem with having too many players on ship.

That was a phony excuse to save face.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

I can see this causing problems at every school. Just a few quick examples off the top of my head.

1. There will definitely be "locker room" problems. I believe this will destroy the team culture/chemistry that we all know is so important to success. There will be players who are be paid large amounts, and there will be players who think they should be getting paid large amounts. Nothing can break apart a team faster than jealousy and animosity towards teammates.

2. Athletes will play for individual glory before team success. For example, a basketball player might be tempted to shoot 30 times per game to make sure he is the leading scorer. Or, a QB might not pitch to the open man b/c he wants to score the game winning touchdown. Fame/attention equals $$ and some will put that before winning.

These 2 scenarios could have a huge influence on the overall success or failure of the program...

3. What happens when an "official" logo, trademark, color, etc. Is used in an advertisement or promotion? Will the school agree? Will the school also get paid? I think it would be hard to have a player endorsing a company if he couldn't be associated with the school/team.

4. What happens if GT (or any school) doesn't want to be associated with the companies/products their players want to endorse? For example, say a player from North GA loves hunting & guns, so the gun manufacturer in their home town wants to use them in their advertising. What if GT does not want to be associated with guns? Then what happens??

I think this is going to create a lot more problems than people expect.

No way the schools will be able to allow their trademark to be used in ads, for instance, that they have no approval over.

And don’t be surprised, if this comes to fruition, that Joey Hero suddenly has problems with. Grades, or the police, or playing time.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

The single most important stat that a college football coach will be able to pitch to a high school kid will be how many jerseys with his name on it can be sold to the college’s fan base. The recruit’s agent will be calculating sports merchandising deals and will steer the kid to the colleges with fans who buy lots of gear. Woof, woof, woof...

What if colleges do not approve of their trademarks being used by some company they do not want representing them?

Even if this goes through there is no guarantee that a player can use college property to benefit themself.

The entire Ca. University system, usc, UCLA, Stanford are all against this.

 

[JacketOff]

I don’t really think some players getting paid based off their contributions would destroy the locker room nearly as bad as some of you think. I mean, there’s already huge pay discrepancies in pro sports, upwards of $20M a year between teammates. That doesn’t really affect how teammates play with each other. Sure there will be some guys that will play for individual glory rather than team success, but that already happens anyway, in all levels of sports. Plus it’s not like players don’t already know who the stars are, and who is used to promote the team. When ESPN promotes Clemson or Oklahoma games, they talk about Hurts, or Lawrence, or Etienne. They don’t talk about the gunner that’s on punt coverages. At the end of the day, the teams that win more will have more support, and there will be more money out there for the players on those teams. I believe if players were able to make money off their likeness it might make Bowl games entertaining and meaningful again. New Year’s Day bowls used to mean everything for schools, now unless they’re in the CFP it’s just a meaningless exhibition.

 

[Skeptic]

When athletes are getting paid, I will switch to the NFL. The players and quality of play is better and the League does more to ensure parity than any other sports league amateur or professional.

Well, what is parity to some is mediocrity to others. But they already are being paid, in modest amounts, but nonetheless paid. And try as I may I cannot think of a single reason the NCAA or the university should own the rights to a player's image or deny a player who has reached the age of consent -- what a quaint term that has become -- the right to earn money on his own accomplishments.

The world changes. Sports change. When all is said and done 20 years hence football message boards will be thundering about something else.