The problem with college football and men's basketball (and beginning in women's hoops, as well) was the money going to everyone but the players. NIL doesn't really fix that. Neither does the transfer portal. The NCAA wants the student-athlete model to remain, but cannot (or will not) do anything that directly addresses the problems. A few players are getting NIL money that seems like a lot compared to whatever they were getting under the table before NIL. We went from a plantation model to chaos. Someone needs to put some parameters around NIL and conditions for eligibility around the portal. But, most of the players are not getting anything more than a little spending money. The hot mess we have now will kill both sports at the collegiate level if left as is.
What worries me is that allowing a few to get a lot will make a four year scholarship go away just like the flying wedge. That will not hurt the 4* and 5* recruits, but what about those guys busting their tails to get away from an economic system that's trapped their parents and grandparents for generations.
Yes.
My reflection on this always leads me back to one thought in particular. Society has always tended to put athletes on a pedestal. They are stars. They tend to get undue attention and adulation.
So, does that make them property? Who owns them? Whoever “owns” the most stars wins? I think a lot of universities understand the intrinsic value of having “stars” on campus, and that doesn’t necessarily have to be in a cynical or exploitative way. That has been a tension in the system for a long time about stars that some schools handle better than others. Some school’s totally lose all integrity.
But what of the human being behind the “star?” These are still people in process, being formed, needing guidance. Does the NCAA care about that? I suspect some colleges still do. I suspect other colleges just think they do or like to pretend they do.
I am reminded of Marylyn Monroe who was an extraordinary talent and human being but wasn’t mature enough or emotionally developed enough to resist the “star” mold that was forced on her every day. So what of the 20 year old sport phenom who creates lots of capital and market value and is simultaneously told they are their own person and yet is being buffeted by larger corporate interests? What 20 year old can possibly navigate in this chaos? Very few.
I almost wonder if all the money generated by big time sports should set aside a fund to supply every player coming out of high school with an agent. Agents would have to be vetted and go through an annual review of their work. Their mission would be simple. Do what is in the best interest of this individual student athlete, protect them from the overwhelming forces pushing and pulling them, and help set them on a path for life. The goal would not be to make the most money or go to the school with the biggest TV market. The goal would be to go where you are the best culture fit / academic fit, and will be fairly compensated, not exploited. And if you discover you want to drop athletics and become an English major so be it.
Every student would be given such an agent. If they find after awhile they don’t need the agent, fine. But no student athlete would just be thrown to the wolves in this current madness. They would at least start with someone who would lay out what the realistic options are, what the trade offs are, and help the athlete find where their heart is.
No agent would work for a university. They work for the student as long as the student wants or needs them.