Why participate in education if you're hiring athletes for sports? Does the NFL or NBA or MLB?
That’s the part I can’t wrap my head around. Will it be the University of Tennessee Volunteer Football team or will it be the Tennessee Volunteers semi professional team? Will the players still participate in college? I agree there’s no point anymore but how will the professional organization be affiliated with the University? Its perplexing.
A private organization can set trade rules that essentially do completely away with the need for a transfer portal. NIL is never going away but that same organization will set contract specs. Pro players have NIL, its called endorsements. Commercials, gear, etc. See the NFL for the example of how an organization can do these things and make the other stuff obsolete.
Sadly, they can't without Congress giving them the Antitrust Exemption which other major pro sports enjoy. I'm not sure the NFL and NBA want to join their "free farm system" that college provides and share their Antitrust protection.
I've no idea how it will play out. If the heavy revenue schools don't break away from the NCAA and form some sort of pro league, lots of sports (even at UT) will be dropped because paying all the athletes that play for UT is completely insane.
For me, the SEC and B1G universities needs to spin the athletic departments off as a business.
Most players in college still take their academics seriously. I think they will find a way to make it work. The football programs are going to have to stay connected to the university. They know what makes college sports to the fans. Congress could decide to go a few ways. They can impose exemptions and totally new laws for college sports that works for the fans,the players and the university. If they lose the university connection that will be the one thing that waters down everything. I think congress knows what college football means to fans, and I don’t think most players are greedy and only care about money. Playing time is a huge factor in most decisions. I think most players would be fine some type of cap and all scholarship players shared in the team cap money. And also a once a year portal time that was firm. Lawyers and the NCAA never trying to find a common ground was what got us here. The players aren’t the problem, it’s the greedy system that TV and the press has created off the success of the popularity of college football. Baseballs semi pro divisions have tanked over the last several years. The top players are going to college more and more. The semi pro baseball league is losing huge money because of lack of attendance and more and more baseball players going to college. A semi pro league not connected to colleges is going to be a death spiral loser and if they powers to be don’t see it now they will feel it later. I can’t see them cutting the hand that has made college football the giant that it is. GBO
And those nfl pensions are significantly more than government employees, so i would assume that the newly formed players union would do everything they could to get players pensions as high as possible. Everything is going to mimic the NFL imo. Maybe not the dollar amounts, but definitely the model.
I'm not convinced the "student" aspect remains after they're declared "employees" so playing for years, well beyond 4 or 5, seems likely to me.
Agreed. From my perspective, these are now professional athletes. Dispense with the "student" aspect altogether. Let schools hire HS athletes to play for them. I would eliminate the problems coaches face with the timing of the portal to accommodate the academic calendar. Put 'em under contract to play. If they decide to participate in college while there, let them pay their own way. Not sure how many would take advantage of the opportunity, but that's their call.
The problem is "aging out of the league" may be illegal age discrimination so a player may have a 10yr "college" career.
Again, the NFL has an antitrust exemption.
