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Post by calihanmole on Oct 31, 2019 13:24:50 GMT -5
How do Titans fans feel about the likelihood that college athletes will soon be able to profit off name and likeness? Some things I was pondering:
Will it cause friction on teams if some athletes are making money off their likeness? For example, if a car dealership gave Antoine Davis $50,000 to be on their tv commercials, how would that make the 8th man on the team feel?
What’s to stop big time programs from using this as a loophole to pay every guy on the roster? For example, what if there was an understanding that The Mole Ford Dealership would feature every member of Mole State MBB team and pay each player $15,000 for his likeness season after season? I worry that could incent a 3 star guy to go to a big time program and get paid rather than take a chance at a mid major.
I could probably think of many more hypotheticals, some in favor of but most of them against the change.
One positive - this might result in the resurrection of NCAA video games. When I had EA NCAA basketball on my Xbox during my UDM days I led the Titans to two consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. Which was way more fun than watching Perry Watson’s real life team and his 7 win seasons.
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Post by Commissioner on Oct 31, 2019 18:10:51 GMT -5
I’m a pretty libertarian guy, but in this case I say no. We often hear that “other students can do it,” but that’s purely conjectural—other students don’t have that option, so we don’t really know how we’d react. Nobody’s offering 5 or 6 figures to the guys in chess club.
As you point out, this is an invitation to fraud and paid athletes—that’s why the limit was put in in the first place. Then people say, well, what’s wrong with the athletes getting paid, let’s make it all open and above board.
But an organization has a right to set its rules. This is an association for collegiate athletics. Athletics are supposed to be part of the college experience, teaching how to win and lose gracefully, developing discipline and learning to set goals, etc etc. I realize we are far from the model, and that’s the fault mainly of the schools themselves (not the NCAA) that thirst for the dough. And it’s our fault as fans for being willing to pay too much—for demanding wins at all costs. Still, I’m not ready to give up the ideal and I don’t think the ncaa should either.
That’s in part because in the longer run, people don’t want to watch mercenary kids play—we can watch better players in the NBA. The allure is that they’re students playing for good ole alma mater. Everyone knows there’s a lot of cheating on that ideal, and a lot of hypocrisy, but ultimately, people want to watch college basketball, not minor league professional ball. I think that’s why the sport is already hurting. Who wants to watch a team of 1 year players for long? And who wants to watch the Durham bulls? It’s a good movie, but in reality, no one cares. So we’re killing the goose.
And it’s not like these kids are slaves. They get tuition, room and board and books that has a sizable value. At the top schools they are pampered beyond belief, with dorms that more seem less a Club Med, private chefs, etc. they are no longer BMOCs—they are almost a cloistered elite, the new robber barons of the collegiate world. Not many other teenagers are getting the equivalent of $60,000 or more a year.
The ncaa is bound to split basketball into another division, sooner or later. The big schools will insist. They’ll pay their players. The other schools will play amateur ball at a lower level—and the cycle will start again.
But I don’t oppose what few efforts are or can be made to hold the line.
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