Breaking: Ricky Gibson to the portal

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I agree that this is part of the world we live in now, but it was made public (by his people according to AP) that he wanted a new deal after already re-upping and doubling his old deal. That's not exactly the way I would've chosen to go about this.


I think most fans are accepting to the idea that these guys are making a pretty substantial amount of money now. Even Duke is now paying their new portal QB a ridiculous amount of money. Beck is getting stupid $ from Miami. All that said, if it's perceived that you are more about yourself than your team it won't be well received... especially with this fanbase. We're all on this website for a reason .. we're fans of Tennessee. We have a connection one way or another. We want to win. Winning is incredibly hard. But if it’s perceived that you’re getting in the way of that, people will turn on you. The fact that we’re this far into this thread is a testament to that .

And Gibson gives a better chance to win and he knows it. He knows he has leverage. UT has leverage too on some players by recruiting over them and showing them the door. It happens. Gibson's move happens.

The "old school" way left the team with all the power by limiting transfers, no revenue sharing, etc. That wasn't sustainable legally.

The new "Wild West" way is EXACTLY what UT sued to get, for better or for worse, so if it bites us occasionally...... UT did this. UT wanted the players to have this power to transfer. UT wanted the NIL regulations as loose as possible.

As you say, we're all UT fans. I can't complain when my team (and state) actually sued the NCAA to create what I'm complaining about.

 

[#1HomeGrownUTVOL]

Not everything in life is about money. I'd rather be a decent guy making decent money, than a douche canoe making tons of money.

I’ve been a nice guy my whole life and it hasn’t got me very far, cunning business decisions has got me further.

 

[utchs81]

I’ve been a nice guy my whole life and it hasn’t got me very far, cunning business decisions has got me further.

But being a nice guy will give folks something to look back on you at your funeral with fond thoughts and memopries.

 

[DaddyChad]

But being a nice guy will give folks something to look back on you at your funeral with fond thoughts and memopries.

Meh, you can be “nice” and not be a sucker.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Not everything in life is about money. I'd rather be a decent guy making decent money, than a douche canoe making tons of money.

When I read this I think of the supposed David Lee Roth quote: Money can't buy you happiness but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull alongside it.

Of course not everything in life is about money but in the big scheme of things Gibson's leverage play is just a hardball business move. If UT plays hardball back at him in some way, that's fair.

This is why I think a General Manager may be needed now at the college level. Let them deal with the money aspects and be adversarial with the players and let the coaches coach the players the GM gets.

It really is a business. Business really isn't "y'all play nice on the playground" when millions of dollars are in the mix.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Coaches and players are a little different. Coaches don’t have a set number years of eligibility to coach. They can go away, rehab, and come back. They also have buyouts if they leave. Rickey has 3 years of eligibility left max. I don’t blame him for chasing as much money as he can during his short window and I wouldn’t blame UT if they told him to get lost after he reneged on the deal

Clear this up, DID HE or DID HE NOT sign a deal for the 25 season?

No problem him negotiating that deal, BIG problem if he does not HONOR it.

Was it with SPYRE or UT? I am in the dark with validated facts, important facts. Like to see the language if SPYRE. Could, not would, they be able to require a buyout, or sue for damages? NOT A CLUE!

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Clear this up, DID HE or DID HE NOT sign a deal for the 25 season?

No problem him negotiating that deal, BIG problem if he does not HONOR it.

Was it with SPYRE or UT? I am in the dark with validated facts, important facts. Like to see the language if SPYRE. Could, not would, they be able to require a buyout, or sue for damages? NOT A CLUE!

That's the mess. NIL deals, until the House revenue sharing case is settled, are made outside of the school and Spyre can't officially tie deals to "you have to play for UT."

Obviously, if a player transfers Spyre isn't going to pay them, so there's got to be an "out" in the contract if a player hits the portal. I don't know for a fact that's how the contracts work, but I feel certain Spyre isn't leaving themselves on the hook for a player who transfers.

As for suing a transferring player for damages, talk about negatively recruiting yourself..... Yikes!

 

[ETSUVol09]

When I read this I think of the supposed David Lee Roth quote: Money can't buy you happiness but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull alongside it.

Of course not everything in life is about money but in the big scheme of things Gibson's leverage play is just a hardball business move. If UT plays hardball back at him in some way, that's fair.

This is why I think a General Manager may be needed now at the college level. Let them deal with the money aspects and be adversarial with the players and let the coaches coach the players the GM gets.

It really is a business. Business really isn't "y'all play nice on the playground" when millions of dollars are in the mix.

His move is being labeled as shrewd right now but we can’t say that unless it works out for him.

Now I don’t fault him for trying to make more money. My fault in the guy is what many have with this situation. He just renegotiated his deal in December.

Pulling this move so soon can bring into question whether he is here for the team or himself. Paying this player more means less money to spend on improving your team in other areas. NIL resources are finite. Tom Brady understood this and took less money to be part of a better team.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

His move is being labeled as shrewd right now but we can’t say that unless it works out for him.

Now I don’t fault him for trying to make more money. My fault in the guy is what many have with this situation. He just renegotiated his deal in December.

Pulling this move so soon can bring into question whether he is here for the team or himself. Paying this player more means less money to spend on improving your team in other areas. NIL resources are finite. Tom Brady understood this and took less money to be part of a better team.

His situation changed in 1 and possibly 2 ways:
1. McCoy got injured which increased his value to the team.
2. He may have an offer from another team that's a better deal.

I've no idea what you do for a living but if you'd just gotten a raise and a competitor offered you more money, you might want to discuss it with your employer because the wife needs a new car, dang those kids grow out of clothes before you can wash them, etc. Almost everyone has money needs which, at least for me, are more important than the needs of my employer. My employer will take care of themselves and would replace me (and mine did when I retired) without a hitch.

As for Brady, he's one of the exceptions to the "everyone has money needs" because he knew he had gotten and would get his. He needed only to do another commercial or appearance or sponsor something to make up whatever he passed up in salary.

 

[sjt18]

I don't go to games nor do I interact with athletes so this groupie comparison you made makes no sense.

It does to pretty much everyone else here who has watched your posts over the last few years.

I just don't go out of my way to see the players are replaceable cogs in a machine. I respect them as individual humans and will always root for their well-being over an institution which has no feelings or emotions.

You really don't understand the concept of team athletics, do you? You don't understand the dynamics of interpersonal relationships or how/why putting the interests of others equal to or ahead of your own is a good and admirable thing. The "institution like a family or any other functioning group of people bound together for purpose is made up of people who STOP seeing themselves as individuals and submit themselves to the interests of the group.

I haven't read that much about Gibson. Only that he entered the portal and is apparently pretty selfish about it all.

But go ahead and prioritize the well-being of the company over the employees.

Yes. The welfare of the whole is more important than the welfare of the one. That is ESPECIALLY true when the welfare of the employee WHOLLY depends on the welfare of the "company". EVERY employee who thinks they're bigger and more important than the company as a whole... is a DIRECT threat to the welfare of every other employee.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

That's the mess. NIL deals, until the House revenue sharing case is settled, are made outside of the school and Spyre can't officially tie deals to "you have to play for UT."

Obviously, if a player transfers Spyre isn't going to pay them, so there's got to be an "out" in the contract if a player hits the portal. I don't know for a fact that's how the contracts work, but I feel certain Spyre isn't leaving themselves on the hook for a player who transfers.

As for suing a transferring player for damages, talk about negatively recruiting yourself..... Yikes!

I don’t see where SPYRE is at risk, but if he signed an agreement giving them rights to his NAME IMAGE and LIKENESS rights, my assumption, then how can a competitor’s agent market him?

If he does make more money why would that not be evidence of harm to SPYRE and them not recovering their losses?

What else would those agreements be based on?

 

[Delmar]

Let’s say we meet him at a # that he wants and he comes back. I think there’s only one way this goes where he is favorably looked upon going forward. It’s really simple. He has to ball the F##K out. That’s it. If he doesn’t, it will be ugly. Not saying that I agree with it, but people will be harsh. If he gets hit on another back shoulder by Ryan Williams it’s not gonna be good. Is that fair ? No. But this is the situation he and his group have created for himself . So if he ups his deal by playing these games he better come to play.

The mercenaries are now professionals. As such, they can get booed just like any professional. It comes with the territory. You know the old adage: If you can’t stand the heat……

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I don’t see where SPYRE is at risk, but if he signed an agreement giving them rights to his NAME IMAGE and LIKENESS rights, my assumption, then how can a competitor’s agent market him?

If he does make more money why would that not be evidence of harm to SPYRE and them not recovering their losses?

What else would those agreements be based on?

I'm not sure exactly how these work.

If Spyre is bound by contract to provide him with NIL opportunities (which I assume the contract states) of $XX dollars, then they WOULD be on the hook to fulfill that contract even if he transferred.

Spyre isn't going to want to pay NIL to a non UT player so they're sure to have an out in the contract for transfers, dismissals, etc.

If he transfers but still makes his appearances, signs now useless UT photos, or whatever Spyre is obligated to provide for him in exchange for his NIL money, he has no worries and isn't in breach of contract.

They can't MAKE him still attend UT and his contract with Spyre by NCAA rules cannot be connected to attending any school.

Spyre has some kind of out for transfers, at least I hope they do, or they're going to get burned.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

The mercenaries are now professionals. As such, they can get booed just like any professional. It comes with the territory. You know the old adage: If you can’t stand the heat……

Everyone with a job is a mercenary. If you screw up, you'll hear it from someone.

I feel certain Josh Heupel can melt the paint off the locker room walls when needed or light up an individual in his office.

Crowd boos are nothing compared to a good coach.