Note from Juanyeh Thomas

[Milwaukee]

Let's think about just his jersey revenue. A quick Google search shows his official #1 Adidas jersey at bookstore is $120. Let's say they sell 5 of those a day. Juanyeh's been on campus for 2 years (730 days). 730 days * 5 * $120 = $438,000.

This can’t be correct. Packer and Durham did a deep dive on Manziel’s jersey sales and the money it generated while at A&M (he was one of the biggest selling jerseys in the nation) and they were extremely low to where it was shocking; it was much lower than even your guesstimates above regarding Thomas.

 

[gtpi]

One would think that his HS coach pretty much realized what was going on, not just with Bryce's family, but with his emotional state and could have either provided some assistance of his own, or recruited others to help. And, of course, maybe he did, and maybe other individuals and/or groups in the area did, but to no avail. Still, it seems like both Bryce and his mom felt and, in his mom's case is still feeling, lost and alone and unloved. My heart goes out to all of them.

i think that is illegal in many states. coaches get fired for that even in hs.

 

[gtkevin12]

I’m confused why people are bringing up non student-athletes who are struggling and who’s families are struggling. Yes, this is a larger population than student-athletes. But the whole point is that student-athletes generates significantly more revenue for the school than the struggling non student-athlete. I’m pretty sure if Juanyeh wasn’t a football player at an ACC school then he wouldn’t feel like he has a point.

Honestly, since Juanyeh Thomas has stepped on campus for GT, how much revenue do you think he’s generated for GT? Whatever your guess is, I guarantee you it’s at least 100x more than the GT tuition he’d be required to pay as a non-student athlete.

So, because he plays football, and the GTAA earns money from the football program, GT should also be required to pay/support his family if necessary?

He is being compensated via his scholarship to play football. If GT or the NCAA won't allow him to work, I'm fine with the additional stipend to cover expenses. But if you think GT needs to support his family too, just because he plays football, you've lost your damn mind!

 

[jojatk]

Yes. Juanyeh is speaking from a position of extreme privilege. He needs to recognize that and quit being a victim.

NVM. I didn’t like the tone of my own post.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gtpi]

If you don’t think players profiting from advertisements would be abused then you simply don’t have a good grasp on the situation.

phony baloney. im my world i would gladly allow 1000 kids get a free jersey or tat or whatever under the table in order to save one young man and his family. phony baloney

the price you put on a human life is abysmal.

 

[THWG]

Let's think about just his jersey revenue. A quick Google search shows his official #1 Adidas jersey at bookstore is $120. Let's say they sell 5 of those a day. Juanyeh's been on campus for 2 years (730 days). 730 days * 5 * $120 = $438,000.

So, you do know that #1 is the only jersey number available, right? That is the only jersey number adidas has produced for Tech so far.

 

[gtpi]

So, because he plays football, and the GTAA earns money from the football program, GT should also be required to pay/support his family if necessary?

He is being compensated via his scholarship to play football. If GT or the NCAA won't allow him to work, I'm fine with the additional stipend to cover expenses. But if you think GT needs to support his family too, just because he plays football, you've lost your damn mind!

what? a kid just died an you make such a calloused comment.

 

[Boaty1]

Yes I see how you are very unemotional and sensitive on this subject. I don’t have a problem with your opinion on the subject though we disagree. But Juanyeh doesn’t need to recognize that YOU think he’s being a victim. He feels there’s an inequity in the system and there’s something called free speech and he is using it in a respectful way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My response was in response to somebody saying I was speaking from a position of privilege.

Juanyeh is a P5 football player getting an education at one of the premier colleges in the country. 99% of people his age would trade spots with him in a heartbeat. That’s not an emotional response.

 

[gtkevin12]

what? a kid just died an you make such a calloused comment.

Why should GT help a football player's family but not the families of other GT students who are in need?

 

[mndojckt]

I don’t understand why people are so against even the idea of players getting some sort of payment.

 

[Gtswifty81]

Paying athletes in college is always a tricky issue. Most athletic associations in college are not profitable. Football in most schools is the only profitable sport so paying profits to football players would essentially eliminate all funding for other sports.

The NCAA is another story where they make significant profits and also restricted athletes from marketing themselves independently for compensation. I only think a small percentage of players would be able to profit from endorsements. Even with allowing players to benefit from endorsements is tricky because you don’t want boosters guaranteeing future money to recruits who attend the college they want.

It is frustrating that those who need help the most can’t receive it. With the profits that the NCAA generates, you’d think there’d be a way to setup a family assistance program for families of scholarship athletes who financially qualify.

 

[Boaty1]

phony baloney. im my world i would gladly allow 1000 kids get a free jersey or tat or whatever under the table in order to save one young man and his family. phony baloney

the price you put on a human life is abysmal.

What? How in the world do you have any understanding on how I value human life?

The issues that led to Gowdy’s death are long but I’m not willing to say in any way shape or form that Collegiate athletes being paid would have changed this outcome.

And here is the point, I’m not saying there isn’t room for change. I’m just saying that we have to be careful what changes we make because if we aren’t careful we could end up doing harm to more student athletes than we help.

 

[gtpi]

Why should GT help a football player's family but not the families of other GT students who are in need?

its called 'taking the first step'. im an atheist and i find your attitude completely callous no matter what you believe. given most here are staunch christians i have to wonder what jesus would do.

you do understand what a general fund is right? its not a gt fund or a tosu fund or a bama fund.... in my world you keep helping people and picking them up UNTIL...... your constant 'buts' fall on deaf ears and make your concerns sound more about money than HUMAN BEINGS

 

[heyhellowhatsup]

This is a bad way for the proponents of player pay to frame the conversation. There are LOTS and LOTS of people seeking a higher education who come from bad family situations. There is nothing unique about being a student-athlete when it comes to that.

Player pay should be based on some type of revenue sharing model that is blind to individual circumstances.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

Are there not students that don’t have an athletic scholarship who have families in the same, unfortunate situation?

 

[jacket_fan]

Teen suicides, and I would include all suicides, are disturbing.

I think trying to link it with money and the NCAA is where I think this thread is off track. I think all on this board are disturbed by the situation. Hard to not get emotional.

 

[jojatk]

Are there not students that don’t have an athletic scholarship who have families in the same, unfortunate situation?

My issue with statements like this is it seems to mean that if we're not helping everyone we shouldn't be helping anyone. It is absolutely tragic when there are students who feel so helpless that suicide becomes an option they turn to, or that they turn to it for any reason. I think what sets this one apart is that there's a machine out there that is making billions of dollars from these kids and perhaps there's a way to tap into that to help them.

 

[jojatk]

Why should GT help a football player's family but not the families of other GT students who are in need?

This is, to me, an exclusionary way of looking at things. It says that since we can't help EVERYONE that we shouldn't help anyone. I prefer to look at it this way. If there's a pool of money that is being earned based on the actions of the football players then maybe that's something that can be tapped into to help the families of those players who need it. I'm not suggesting there's an easy answer or that any answer could be found that wouldn't be so easy to take advantage of that it wasn't worse than doing nothing. Just that, perhaps, there's a resource out there that can be used. That doesn't mean at all that the families of football players are more deserving than those of any other families of GT students. Not at all. But if we could do so that would probably have to come from a different source.

 

[jojatk]

What? How in the world do you have any understanding on how I value human life?

The issues that led to Gowdy’s death are long but I’m not willing to say in any way shape or form that Collegiate athletes being paid would have changed this outcome.

And here is the point, I’m not saying there isn’t room for change. I’m just saying that we have to be careful what changes we make because if we aren’t careful we could end up doing harm to more student athletes than we help.

I agree with your last statement. But I think we will never know if Bryce had thought that he could help his mom and brothers out by earning some money while in school that the outcome might have been different.

 

[Lotta Booze]

I understand there are concerns about “abuse” when it comes to allowing players to profit off their likeness and I don’t know the solution to prevent all of that but I think they should err to the side of allowing these adults to make money off of who they are and their talents.

If the NCAA wants to claim that the scholarship is the entirety of the compensation that the player can receive then I’d really like to see them hold the schools more accountable for educating and supporting the athletes as they enter the working world. But I haven’t seen them do that and they seem to give schools hand slaps for pushing the kids through paper classes and then come down hard if a kid accepts a sweatshirt.

It just feels a bit exploitative to have these coaches making millions going into some of these poor communities to recruit kids and then NCAA tells them and their family to wait several years before they can monetize their talents. And in some cases the kid could then be pushed through the system or processed out.