Has anyone heard

[preacherman20]

Because you want him as a potential replacement, this year, either as insurance or replacement, and you want him as a starter for the next 2-3 years. Nothing is a guarantee.

And it isn't necessarily an issue that he CAN'T produce, right now. There's only one spot and the guy in front of him has some advantages Nico doesn't. NFL teams pay rookies millions of dollars, too, and don't expect them to walk in and start immediately. In the NIL era, you're going to be paying someone in every recruiting class, but certainly you don't expect us to start a freshman at every position every year simply because we paid them X number of dollars in NIL money, right?

My answer yes. If a player is making three to $4 million he should be the starter. Because I also wonder what do you do with Joe when he is starting and not making near that. Also if you were paying that kind of money for a non-starter, there is nothing that keeps him from transferring, and taking your money and running. No different, I would not give a kid a large scholarship if I did not think he could help me right now. So, yes, our opinions are totally different on that. If he can’t help you for three years. Why would you give that kind of money or a large scholarship ?

 

[butchna]

I don’t have an answer for what was happening this weekend but I don’t think this played a part in it. I know Kirby said either the cold or something kept his ball from moving like it normally does and everybody’s Velo seemed to be down 4 to 5 miles an hour.

It is interesting to me that everybody has jumped on the Nico bandwagon when he has never taken a snap other than all the hype that comes with him. But it also interesting to me that many of you guys say he will not be the starter next year, which blows my mind that you would give someone who’s not good enough to be the starter that kind of money. I know eventually they will need to be something done with the NIL process to be able to reward guys that are on campus producing equal to the guys you’re trying to bring in who have not proven here.

By “next year” do you mean 2024…or this upcoming season? Barring injury Milton starts with all things being equal and it’s not about being “good enough”, it’s about who’s already battle tested and more ready. If that wasn’t your point, please disregard.

 

[preacherman20]

2023 I just do not understand how you would pay a kid that kind of money to only play two years because we all know if he is that good he will go in the draft as soon as he can. But I also do not understand that NFL team paying back up more money as a rookie, than the guy who is starting in front of him.

 

[butchna]

My answer yes. If a player is making three to $4 million he should be the starter. Because I also wonder what do you do with Joe when he is starting and not making near that. Also if you were paying that kind of money for a non-starter, there is nothing that keeps him from transferring, and taking your money and running. No different, I would not give a kid a large scholarship if I did not think he could help me right now. So, yes, our opinions are totally different on that. If he can’t help you for three years. Why would you give that kind of money or a large scholarship ?

Because we play every year and you need the best candidates for success. I’m not sure why you’re so hung up over what a COLLECTIVE was able to wrangle up for him. It’s marketing and cost benefit OUTSIDE the university and coaching staff. They’re not beholden/obligated to shove him in there based on what somebody else is paying out. That’s how Heupel would end up losing his $9 mil per year job.

 

[volforlife15]

Because we play every year and you need the best candidates for success. I’m not sure why you’re so hung up over what a COLLECTIVE was able to wrangle up for him. It’s marketing and cost benefit OUTSIDE the university and coaching staff. They’re not beholden/obligated to shove him in there based on what somebody else is paying out. That’s how Heupel would end up losing his $9 mil per year job.

This. I don’t get why it’s so hard to understand. The collectives sure want to pay the best players and the ones who will play. But they also care about advertising and marketing. Nico is marketable because of the hype around him

 

[preacherman20]

I’m not “hung up” no dog in the hunt on any level. Just having conversation. But I will stop the convo here.

 

[butchna]

2023 I just do not understand how you would pay a kid that kind of money to only play two years because we all know if he is that good he will go in the draft as soon as he can. But I also do not understand that NFL team paying back up more money as a rookie, than the guy who is starting in front of him.

Who’s “you”? Take it up with Spyre. If he ends up elite enough to leave after his third year in the program, we obviously benefitted. Bryce Young sat for a year then was one of the first athletes to benefit from NIL with a mil before winning the Heisman and is now cashing out after three. Ask the Gumps if it was worth it.

 

[cncchris33]

My answer yes. If a player is making three to $4 million he should be the starter. Because I also wonder what do you do with Joe when he is starting and not making near that. Also if you were paying that kind of money for a non-starter, there is nothing that keeps him from transferring, and taking your money and running. No different, I would not give a kid a large scholarship if I did not think he could help me right now. So, yes, our opinions are totally different on that. If he can’t help you for three years. Why would you give that kind of money or a large scholarship ?

Lots of assumptions here, though.

1. I've seen no supporting documentation that Nico is making $3-4 million, this year.
2. The $8 million figure is still only a rumor, and is believed to be a max value deal over 4 years. Neither of us have any idea what the actual details of that deal are, nor how it is structured. Perhaps it's max value is contingent on his starter status?
3. Neither of us have any idea what Joe Milton is being paid, if anything.
4. Tennessee isn't paying these kids a thing. If Spyre makes these decisions, it really isn't costing the university anything. So if a kid transfers, then he transfers. I feel very secure in saying no one is getting the full value of their NIL deal up front. No way has Nico been paid $8 million up front before he ever takes a snap. It's very likely he was given something to sign, but basic business sense says that deal is constructed to max out based on a lot of future fulfillments by Nico over his career at Tennessee. Maybe he received $500k to sign, $500k as a freshman, $1.5 mil as a sophomore starter, $2.5 mil as a junior starter, $3 mil as a senior starter? That would provide him incentive to stay at Tennessee rather than transfer, stay for his senior year rather than leave for the NFL, and it would cost Spyre a minimal amount to land a 5* QB, and reward Nico's continued effort and improvement.
5. Again, you keep using the phrase "can't help you right now". No one is saying Nico can't help us right now. It isn't an issue of can/can't. It's an issue of having two QBs capable of playing and choosing the QB with physical gifts and experience over the QB with physical gifts, while still securing your QB future over the following 2-3 years. And in a worse case scenario, Nico can replace an injured or ineffective Joe Milton, this year.

We'll likely have to agree to disagree on the issue. I respect your position, but to me, a lot of it seems to be based on assumption.

 

[chuckiepoo]

If he is not good enough to start this year, then why would he be worth the millions that he’s being paid to play? I would think you would only pay someone that kind of money if they could produce right now. If I was giving any money to that I would expect for a kid to earn $3 million a year they should not be standing on the sideline

I don’t think an NIL deal should cypher into which QB gets snaps or when they get them. It may piss off contributing fans, but Heupel and Hazle negotiated the Hooker/JM3 rapids just fine. Pretty sure they’ll negotiate the rapids coming up around the next bend.

 

[GiveHim6InSC]

NIL is going to destroy a lot of teams. You get money involved and like many other things in life, people change. It’s going to take some strong personalities to keep these athletes on track including coaches, friends and families. The NCAA wasn’t ready for how this NIL blew up.

They’re too busy figuring out how to punish one school for another’s transgressions

 

[tennrich1]

Yeah…I think what’s actually taking place with the NIL is not accurately being perceived. It’s like most business deals…the deals are between the buyer and the seller. There’s zero chance a kid will still get paid if he up and leaves etc. Those type issues simply make zero sense. I do feel like all this will settle down eventually and all the misconceptions will be figured out.

 

[rockytop36]

Yeah I bet and guarantee nico can surpass 8mil in the long run if he is good enough but at the same time he isn’t making 2/3 mil flat per year.. but yeah you are going to have to pay kids to sit to have any kind of continued success

 

[pimo1]

I have not heard anything specific. My son is mute even to me when it comes to locker room stuff as they all should be. I know LSU has already had a flareup over it, and I believe the pay to play stuff will rear its head in every locker room. If a player is being paid to play and there’s not performing, someone will call them out. As I have said, I am all for the legitimate NIL deals, but the pay to play stuff it’s just wrong. I cannot imagine how it is going to blow up the football locker room if Nico does not start with the money that he is being paid.

I think the NICO thing will only be an issue if he does not start next year OR Milton plays badly but they still don't put him in (aka he still can't beat him out). I think pretty much everyone realizes Nico is in a weird situation. Kinda like Arch is in Texas. Milton has 2 years in the system and is very talented and a locker room leader that's gonna be hard to overcome. Nico also seems to have his head screwed on right thus far.

 

[feathersax]

While my ultimate belief is that NIL & the transfer portal are going to be anathema to college sports as we know it, I've no illusions that our coaches & administrators have solutions. Bumps in the road ahead, folks....belly up!

 

[chuckiepoo]

While my ultimate belief is that NIL & the transfer portal are going to be anathema to college sports as we know it, I've no illusions that our coaches & administrators have solutions. Bumps in the road ahead, folks....belly up!

 

[CINCYVOL]

I wonder if athletes at UT have access to a sports psychologist. I remember it paid big dividends to Smoltz back in the day. the pressure on these young men is enormous and I could see how an expert in that field could be really valuable.

I’m sure they do. Majors was one of the first college coaches to utilize one.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

2023 I just do not understand how you would pay a kid that kind of money to only play two years because we all know if he is that good he will go in the draft as soon as he can. But I also do not understand that NFL team paying back up more money as a rookie, than the guy who is starting in front of him.

I think the reason you are paying Nico the amount is for his protentional in the CJH system.

I think Milton will start because CJH has a system that takes time to learn. It was obvious that Hooker/Milton didn't fully grasp the system in year one as they both played better in year 2 of the system.

Sure on pure skill maybe Nico could start year 1 but I think CJH would have to dial the play book way back which would be detrimental to the team.

So I look at it slightly different than maybe you do. If his deal is for 8m for 4 years I look at it as it is more like he gets 500K for protentional/patience and learning in year 1 and 2.15 each year after for the next 3 years even if the NIL deal is not structured that way in all reality that is what you are paying for.

In football you have to have a QB to win. I think you will continue to see high $ NIL deals for QBs that fit the CJH system with the understanding that their path to play is at least 1 year out. (Stacked High * QBs that fit the system and want to learn from CJH)

There are many other sports where your skill alone can get you on the field in year 1 and be successful but not too many college or NFL QBs.

 

[tennesseeduke]

Did the black helicopter drop any leaflets? Asking for a friend.

 

[vol66]

Let’s take a moment and think about this. I find it hard to believe that a kid who’s never even taken a college snap in a meaningful game makes more than the AD, all football coaches other than HC.

If a group, a collective, can get together, take donations from average fans to simply out “recruit” another school(s), what are we talking about here? It is not NIL. I have no problem with Nico or any other player, leveraging their HS worth into whatever they can get, but NIL should be based on what you’ve done, not what you might do.

NIL came about because of exploitation. EA sports could have had a license but they didn’t wanna do that and The NCAA stood by and watched while they lost every court case, failed at the congressional hearings.

In other words…the adults, the governing body, which ultimately are school Presidents, failed to be transparent, failed to do the right thing by the ahem, student athletes (an invented term to avoid workman’s compensation).

Sorry for the rant, and I still think NIL is a good idea.

 

[feathersax]

View attachment 542368

That's it! Happy landings y'all.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

Let’s take a moment and think about this. I find it hard to believe that a kid who’s never even taken a college snap in a meaningful game makes more than the AD, all football coaches other than HC.

If a group, a collective, can get together, take donations from average fans to simply out “recruit” another school(s), what are we talking about here? It is not NIL. I have no problem with Nico or any other player, leveraging their HS worth into whatever they can get, but NIL should be based on what you’ve done, not what you might do.

NIL came about because of exploitation. EA sports could have had a license but they didn’t wanna do that and The NCAA stood by and watched while they lost every court case, failed at the congressional hearings.

In other words…the adults, the governing body, which ultimately are school Presidents, failed to be transparent, failed to do the right thing by the ahem, student athletes (an invented term to avoid workman’s compensation).

Sorry for the rant, and I still think NIL is a good idea.

Agree with all your rant except first paragraph.

Many coaches (basketball, football as examples) make much more than the AD they work for. Many players in professional sports make much more than the coaches and GM(s). Why would you think in a free market system in college football where you have to have a QB to win that a free agent QB would NOT make more than the AD.

To be successful here on out the collectives are going to have to make educated high $ wagers/bids/payoffs("NIL") to high protentional QBs to keep teams at the top of the heap. Just the way it will have to be because useless NCAA let this get away from them.

 

[BruisedOrange]

Assuring that college athletes get some monetary benefit (because the monetary value of a college education is at an all-time low, unless you're pursuing a pre-professional degree) is a generally good and "progressive" idea.

But attaching it to meritocracy, and in the most uneven, unregulated way... is decidedly not-progressive politically!

That's why I strongly suspect that NIL--and the NCAA's lack of readiness to handle it--has always been a Trojan horse, a pretext for bringing in some unelected federal bureaucracy to "fix" the problems created by NIL.

I was always too edumacated to have regard for conspiracy theories. But you know... all those crazy predictions made by those 8th-grade educated roofers I worked with through my college and grad school years had all come true within 10-15 years.

If I'm honest with myself, I don't see anything going on (or, going wrong) today that doesn't invite or enable unelected powers in government, or the most powerful corporations (and often both working together), to assert new levels of control over humans.

So don't just expect NIL to create problems in the locker room. Expect the media to suddenly discover and magnify it, all at the same time. Because timing is the tell.

As for how kids can handle this, well, I can't improve on the Bible. We adults must encourage them to not let what another person has change who you are or how you behave--whether it's "coveting thy neighbor's donkey" or "showing partiality" to the better dressed over the poor. Sports has always provided a preview of life's challenges. Guess that hasn't changed.

 

[vol66]

Agree with all your rant except first paragraph.

Many coaches (basketball, football as examples) make much more than the AD they work for. Many players in professional sports make much more than the coaches and GM(s). Why would you think in a free market system in college football where you have to have a QB to win that a free agent QB would NOT make more than the AD.

To be successful here on out the collectives are going to have to make educated high $ wagers/bids/payoffs("NIL") to high protentional QBs to keep teams at the top of the heap. Just the way it will have to be because useless NCAA let this get away from them.

You said it. Professional sports. In that frame, Joe Milton should ask to be traded?

 

[BruisedOrange]

As for Nico starting because of the NIL money...

You could just as easily reason that the size of the investment would be added reason to make sure he's ready to play at a high level, to really shine, before you put him out in front of the world.

I think the notoriety of the money gives added incentive to make sure you don't let him fail--even the normal amount of on-the-job learning type failure--in front of an ultra high-expectations fanbase, and a dubious world outside of Knoxville who only want him to fail because of the money.

 

[volsagain]

Let’s take a moment and think about this. I find it hard to believe that a kid who’s never even taken a college snap in a meaningful game makes more than the AD, all football coaches other than HC.

If a group, a collective, can get together, take donations from average fans to simply out “recruit” another school(s), what are we talking about here? It is not NIL. I have no problem with Nico or any other player, leveraging their HS worth into whatever they can get, but NIL should be based on what you’ve done, not what you might do.

NIL came about because of exploitation. EA sports could have had a license but they didn’t wanna do that and The NCAA stood by and watched while they lost every court case, failed at the congressional hearings.

In other words…the adults, the governing body, which ultimately are school Presidents, failed to be transparent, failed to do the right thing by the ahem, student athletes (an invented term to avoid workman’s compensation).

Sorry for the rant, and I still think NIL is a good idea.

One simple note many many players were already being paid for years. Some schools were just looked past while others were penalized when caught. That's been in all sports. It's more of a level playing game now. GBO !!!