Portal Watch 2022-23

[DiffusedAcorn]

The fact that it works differently in pro leagues has little relation to the NCAA. Pro leagues have unions, collective bargaining agreements, and anti-trust exemptions from Congress. The NCAA has none of that

This is true at the moment, but the reason why it is a comparison with some importance is that all those things are in place for a reason. Without those things the game isn't competitive, and without competition you have less viewers, which then lowers the amount of money for everyone. If college football doesn't either go back to being an actual STUDENT athlete based game (which it most certainly won't, pandora's box and so forth), then they will need to begin facilitating competition in order to not lose viewership from the Tech fans of the world.

 

[MidtownJacket]

The problem with the whole thing is enforcement.

People hoped that by dragging this thing out into the light we would at least see the shady dealings, problem is - it's as bad as it ever has been. Boosters are acting with impunity because you can't prove a coach called booster x and said go get me player y. So what is to ever stop booster x from calling player y regardless of portal standing. The whole thing is a joke with a bad punch line.

Problem is, there isn't really a good clear cut policy answer. I can't in good faith say that the players shouldn't be able to take money to play. Not with coaches making life changing money to stand on the sideline and be as committed as the hen to breakfast while the hog is getting thrown around on the field.

A fool and their money are soon parted, and I think we will see a few more years of this craziness, but hope it will settle as the market begins to see what happened to teams. Texas A&M is a prime example. They spent $3.3 M* in the 2021-2022 season for their football team to go 8-4 and finish 5th in the SEC. UT Austin spent just under $900K to go 5-7 to finish 7th in conference. At some point it doesn't actually matter. I am more worries for the effect this has on Basketball where buying a Lebron, Kobe, Jordan, Curry type can take over a game.

For what it is worth I like the approach we have taken, go build a team and rally $$ to try to keep your stars, but don't try to go build a team of kids all demanding the money. It isn't sustainable in the long run IMHO.

*Source: https://www.si.com/college/tamu/news/aggies-athletes-4-million-nil-money-2021-aggies-football

 

[jojatk]

Oh, I agree completely. But the ones arguing for this mishegoss, use pro leagues as an analogy for college sports, so I try to remind them of this when I can.

10 points for LNJ for outstanding use of mishegoss!!!

 

[bobongo]

10 points for LNJ for outstanding use of mishegoss!!!

I learned some Yiddish today.

 

[kg01]

I'd give you it may not be against the rules, I'm more saying what I view the rules ought to be. So I'm really asking if you were the immortal ruler of college football, would you allow teams to offer cash to kids not even in the portal?

Nope but, as you suggest, that's not the world we're operating in.

It actually is an NCAA violation for a school to contact a player at another school that is not in the portal. It is rule 14.5.5.2.10.C

"The head coach of the certifying institution and the student shall certify that no athletics staff member or other representative of the institution’s athletics interest communicated or made contact with the student-athlete, or any individual associated with the student (e.g., family member, scholastic or nonscholastic coach, advisor), directly or indirectly, without first obtaining authorization through the notification of transfer process (see Bylaw 13.1.1.3)."

By the way, this means that a booster at a particular school could not make a random twitter post saying he would pay for a particular player $5M in NIL if that player transferred to the booster's school unless that player was in the portal. That would be indirect contact with the player in question and violate the rule above.

Man, how you admit there are no rules in one post, then quote all this ... mishe-goss... in another post?

And ... (the screeching sound is me moving the goal posts) ... good luck enforcing any of these supposed rules you're quoting.

 

[JacketFan137]

Haha, yeah ...

"We're the only ones s'posed ta make millions off these kids' effort." - Dinosaur Coaches

There's a lot wrong with the current non-system but these coaches can miss me with their outrage(sic).

yeah pretty easy to complain when you know you’ll get paid 10 mil cash if you’re BAD at your job lol

 

[Yoda]

Sounds like a low-ball offer to me....

Dawgs and who else?

 

[4shotB]

yeah pretty easy to complain when you know you’ll get paid 10 mil cash if you’re BAD at your job lol

I don't begrudge what these guys make. Nor what CEO's or baseball players or actors or entertainers or entrepenuers make. It's all just economics and free markets and supply and demand. None of them took the 9 to 5 route to get there.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

I guess that means UNC probably paid Maye the $5 Million to get him to stay.

 

[ChicagobasedJacket]

I guess that means UNC probably paid Maye the $5 Million to get him to stay.

It is likely but Maye is a legacy UNC kid. His dad played football there and his brother won a basketball title so I imagine he may have taken a hometown discount to stay.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Yeah, might as admit it is professional sports, the minor leagues for the NFL. Next, you will see independent teams modeled like IMG in high school, start to form that are not even aligned with a college or university and demand to be allowed to compete for the National Championship. It's going to be a totally new deal and you can more or less declare the old version of student-athlete football over. Kind of the Old Testament vs. the New and improved? Testament.

 

[gville_jacket]

Name one sports league where teams are allowed to poach players under "contract" with another team. Every league has rules about interacting with players on others teams. Also, every league has mechanisms to create competitive balance (drafts, salary caps, compensatory picks, etc.).

Whether the old model was stupid is certainly debatable. But this is absolutely insane and much more poorly constructed. At this point, there are no rules.

But they aren’t under contract. Zero college athletes have a contract. In the working world, I don’t have a contract and even if I’m not actively looking for a new job, any company could offer me more money and I can make a decision to listen or not.

 

[GTThor]

Dawgs and who else?

Clemson

 

[JacketOff]

But they aren’t under contract. Zero college athletes have a contract. In the working world, I don’t have a contract and even if I’m not actively looking for a new job, any company could offer me more money and I can make a decision to listen or not.

Athletics aren’t the “working” world. Professional sports leagues have rules about tampering in order to retain competitive balance. If college players want to be paid like professionals they should be put under similar restraints as professionals.

 

[DiffusedAcorn]

Nope but, as you suggest, that's not the world we're operating in.
And ... (the screeching sound is me moving the goal posts) ... good luck enforcing any of these supposed rules you're quoting.

I totally agree with you, my suggestion would be to make incredibly harsh punishments, i.e loss of many scholarships, or giant sanctions, or any number of things, but I think the only way to really enforce it is have very tough consequences for anyone involved.

 

[Randy Carson]

It comes down to this:

You sign a kid for x years at y dollars per year. Schools agree to pay; the kid agrees to play.

This is pro sports. You're not a free agent every year.

 

[inGTwetrust]

When you sign with a school out of high school, it’s a guaranteed 3 year commitment. If you transfer early, you sit a year. After 3 years … go wherever you want after.

And start making nil contracts go that 3 year term.

I think that solves a few problems …

1) any elite prospect at a non-blue chip school is leaving after 3 years anyways, so it eliminates a lot of talent piaching
2) kids that do it right can get their undergrad done in 3 years. So allows for them to transfer wherever for a masters degree or for a different opportunity.
3) way less chaos in the portal.
4) hopefully Keeps kids on a guaranteed scholarship too, eliminating a large % of the “processing”

Kids still get their money. College football im has more continuity and also is a step closer to a level playing field.

 

[DiffusedAcorn]

When you sign with a school out of high school, it’s a guaranteed 3 year commitment. If you transfer early, you sit a year. After 3 years … go wherever you want after.

And start making nil contracts go that 3 year term.

I think that solves a few problems …

1) any elite prospect at a non-blue chip school is leaving after 3 years anyways, so it eliminates a lot of talent piaching
2) kids that do it right can get their undergrad done in 3 years. So allows for them to transfer wherever for a masters degree or for a different opportunity.
3) way less chaos in the portal.
4) hopefully Keeps kids on a guaranteed scholarship too, eliminating a large % of the “processing”

Kids still get their money. College football im has more continuity and also is a step closer to a level playing field.

I like the idea, and in a perfect world I'm all for it, but I highly doubt we could ever go back to no transfer portal world. I'd say the only realistic way to make things work is to enhance the portal and at least attempt to regulate it with serious consequences for violating schools and parties.

 

[inGTwetrust]

I like the idea, and in a perfect world I'm all for it, but I highly doubt we could ever go back to no transfer portal world. I'd say the only realistic way to make things work is to enhance the portal and at least attempt to regulate it with serious consequences for violating schools and parties.

There still is a transfer portal tho. It’s just for 4th years and up or if you want to sit a year before that. It’s not preflect, but solves a lot of the issues.

 

[ibeattetris]

Haha, yeah ...

"We're the only ones s'posed ta make millions off these kids' effort." - Dinosaur Coaches

There's a lot wrong with the current non-system but these coaches can miss me with their outrage(sic).

My guess isn’t the outrage over the money, but that it is against the rules to offer money like that to change teams when the player is not in the portal.