Tyler Baron has entered the portal

[BruisedOrange]

The fact is: college football sold out to big money before this current crop of athletes were born.

Hanging most of this on guys who DIDN'T create this and AREN'T breaking the current rules is my beef with VN.

Is the NCAA sanctioning these kids? telling them "you can't do this" or are they following the rules that are there?

The answer is: they're following the rules.

But VN continuously goes after the kids like they created the mess the NCAA and schools created. They didn't. They just came of age in the middle of this mess and are trying to do the best thing for themselves.

"But, they're not behaving like the guys did in the 60s......" I can assure you, Tyler Baron DID NOT change the rules for players AND I don't think he's in violation of them.

You're upset because someone is following the rules they didn't make.

I'll add to this that players with good parents and coaches have been hearing for years that "you're just one injury away from being an ex-football player. What then? Have you prepared for life without football?"

The smart kids are taking that message to heart. NIL money is now a factor in making responsible decisions for one's future.

As a fan, I hate it. But I also want the next generation to be smarter, more responsible, and self-supporting in their life decisions. There's a difference between responsible self-interest and greed.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I'll add to this that players with good parents and coaches have been hearing for years that "you're just one injury away from being an ex-football player. What then? Have you prepared for life without football?"

The smart kids are taking that message to heart. NIL money is now a factor in making responsible decisions for one's future.

As a fan, I hate it. But I also want the next generation to be smarter, more responsible, and self-supporting in their life decisions. There's a difference between responsible self-interest and greed.

Yes, and the schools are such good examples, eh?

 

[BruisedOrange]

I was totally agreeing with you. Guess I needed to use a different color font, or however it is you express sarcasm.

Ah. Makes sense now. Appreciate your "amen."
BLUE font for sarcasm. Black font for reason. White font for profanity-laced tirades.

 

[BruisedOrange]

Yes, and the schools are such good examples, eh?

Looking at headlines about elite university presidents making statements before congress that "calls for a 'genocide of Jews' on their campuses would only constitute harassment 'depending on the context...'"

I'd have to say many schools are only good examples of how insane the world is becoming.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

You read my post completely wrong, or at least missed my point, which is that all of these developments - realignment, monster media deals, NIL, and the transfer portal - are quickly destroying what's left of the sport. The fact that kids are now taking advantage of these opportunities isn't their fault, and I don't blame them, but I don't have to like it.

I never once attacked Baron or any other player because of precisely the fact that they are simply following rules that have been established. It's the fact that these rules don't take into account the incalculable damage all of this will eventually do to the sport if it isn't reined in to a degree, but I'm afraid that horse has already left the barn.

Regarding hammering Baron or any other kid, I completely agree with you. The NCAA, schools, and conferences created this mess, and you can trace it back to the '90's, when realignment and big money TV deals really kicked in. The players are the easy and most visible target for fans because we don't see the behind-closed-doors backroom dealing.

Everyone loves all the access, being able to see every game with conference networks, and the growth of the SEC into a monolith, but now the bill has come due, so to say. All of this was inevitable.

It's terrible for the sport but the beginning of the problem was the schools and fans. The fans in the SEC wanted more TV games than the NCAA allowed.

In the old days the NCAA kept a tight rein on TV exposure and yeah, the NCAA collected all the TV money too. Fans, me among them, wanted MORE college football on TV, a LOT more. We screwed up. The lack of TV revenue kept big money out of the college game. It was us.

GA (let's blame it on the Dawgs) sued to let the schools negotiate their own deals for media and they won. The conferences went hog wild getting TV money and big money brought big demands on the schools for success.

Money is the root of all evil.

Fast forward and here we are.

If you're like me, a little older and with hips that make Neyland or Thompson-Boling painful to navigate, I'm grateful for the coverage of UT and for not having a transistor to my ear if I can't make a game.

The schools are not going back to "the old ways" of substandard lockers, poor strength and conditioning facilities, practicing outside, etc because the money has upped the stakes, the pressure, the "keeping up with GA and Bama" to get recruits in.

Lamenting this NOW? UT has spent who knows how much money to create this very attractive to recruits, amazing Neyland experience and all that the Anderson complex provides....... but NOW money is ruining the sport????

It's not the young athletes AT ALL who are responsible for this mess.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I'll add to this that players with good parents and coaches have been hearing for years that "you're just one injury away from being an ex-football player. What then? Have you prepared for life without football?"

The smart kids are taking that message to heart. NIL money is now a factor in making responsible decisions for one's future.

As a fan, I hate it. But I also want the next generation to be smarter, more responsible, and self-supporting in their life decisions. There's a difference between responsible self-interest and greed.

I'll agree but Tua had a similar devastating hip injury to Bo Jackson. That injury ended, essentially, Bo Jackson's career. Tua is playing, starting in the NFL.

One of my closest friends had an ACL injury that ended his chances of playing college. His "roadmap" scar was a gruesome thing to see but that same injury now is probably a laparoscopic fix, some rehab, a lineman's heavy brace, and a scholarship...... maybe the next level.

I knew it was getting crazy when they glued Joe Nameth back together seemingly every season in the "bad ol' days" before QBs were treated like newborns.

That "one injury away from losing it all" still exists but it's pretty dang rare now.

 

[OrangeTsar]

 

[sami]

It's terrible for the sport but the beginning of the problem was the schools and fans. The fans in the SEC wanted more TV games than the NCAA allowed.

In the old days the NCAA kept a tight rein on TV exposure and yeah, the NCAA collected all the TV money too. Fans, me among them, wanted MORE college football on TV, a LOT more. We screwed up. The lack of TV revenue kept big money out of the college game. It was us.

GA (let's blame it on the Dawgs) sued to let the schools negotiate their own deals for media and they won. The conferences went hog wild getting TV money and big money brought big demands on the schools for success.

Money is the root of all evil.

Fast forward and here we are.

If you're like me, a little older and with hips that make Neyland or Thompson-Boling painful to navigate, I'm grateful for the coverage of UT and for not having a transistor to my ear if I can't make a game.

The schools are not going back to "the old ways" of substandard lockers, poor strength and conditioning facilities, practicing outside, etc because the money has upped the stakes, the pressure, the "keeping up with GA and Bama" to get recruits in.

Lamenting this NOW? UT has spent who knows how much money to create this very attractive to recruits, amazing Neyland experience and all that the Anderson complex provides....... but NOW money is ruining the sport????

It's not the young athletes AT ALL who are responsible for this mess.

But the players are the most visible, the ones we root for on Saturdays and who are cursed by so many fans who place way too much importance on their performances, and who are expected to bleed orange even as those same fans celebrate when one of them has abandoned another school to come and play for the Power T.

Different sport, but I remember defending Alex Rodriguez (who I've always detested) when he signed that at the time obscene $250 million contract with the Yankees, and fans crucified him. Look at the numbers he put up (obviously steroid enhanced), the every game sellouts at Yankee Stadium, the merchandise sales, and a WS win in 2009 - he was a virtual bargain for the Yankees. My question to anyone who ripped him was "he signed a contract offered to him - would you have refused to sign it?" And then he went out and produced numbers, put fans in the seats, and had a lot to do with the value of the Yankees franchise going through the roof in the '00's. Yet he was the devil, even before he was proven to be a cheater, not the system he was just a part of.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

But the players are the most visible, the ones we root for on Saturdays and who are cursed by so many fans who place way too much importance on their performances, and who are expected to bleed orange even as those same fans celebrate when one of them has abandoned another school to come and play for the Power T.

Different sport, but I remember defending Alex Rodriguez (who I've always detested) when he signed that at the time obscene $250 million contract with the Yankees, and fans crucified him. Look at the numbers he put up (obviously steroid enhanced), the every game sellouts at Yankee Stadium, the merchandise sales, and a WS win in 2009 - he was a virtual bargain for the Yankees. My question to anyone who ripped him was "he signed a contract offered to him - would you have refused to sign it?" And then he went out and produced numbers, put fans in the seats, and had a lot to do with the value of the Yankees franchise going through the roof in the '00's. Yet he was the devil, even before he was proven to be a cheater, not the system he was just a part of.

I'm not a big baseball follower but "juice" has been flowing in MLB at least since Willie and Hank were playing, mostly amphetamines, I'm told. Travel was crazy then and I get it.

Sosa, Bonds, A-Rod, etc made bank from junk and MLB shut their eyes to it because of the revenue the big home run era brought. A-Rod and Co were "good for baseball" until they weren't. The league was happy until they weren't.

The players take the brunt from the fans but MLB was using "plausible deniability" the whole time and counting that revenue. When they tossed the "cheaters" from the sport with righteous indignation it was like that scene in Casablanca when Capt Renault shuts down Rick's for gambling and is handed his casino winnings.

MLB, like college football, let a lot of it happen to cash in. NOW, they want to throw the players under the bus.

 

[TCNC53]

Seems bad. Someone help me not be sad.

Could he feel Jordan Ross may get more playing time? Don’t know. But I know this - he got flagged for lining up offsides more times this year than any player I can remember doing in like, ever. You learn that rule in Pee Wee football. But it kept happening - multiple times in the same game. He may be leaving for reasons that are warranted and beneficial for UT and for him. Either way - wish him the best and hope his next DC can get him to line up properly. GBO!

 

[Caz]

you’ll be crucified for these thoughts.

Haha! I’m not scared

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

NIL is not even a huge change. It's taking what happened under the table and putting it above the table.

The real sea change in the sport is the one-time transfer rule.

I agree with you in part. But kids weren’t getting millions of dollars under the table. I don’t believe that for a minute.

 

[Seattle Hillbilly]

WTF.

He had an amazing season. Apparently 0.0 loyalty.

He may be thinking the same thing but reversed (feels he deserves a bigger NIL deal).

And he may be correct.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I agree with you in part. But kids weren’t getting millions of dollars under the table. I don’t believe that for a minute.

So, you don't mind the money, but you mind the amount of money players are getting?

Are you aware of how the market works: supply and demand as it relates to wages?

The previous "under the table" system improperly "stunted" wages, though they should've been higher. How do I know this? Within days of NIL rules changing, some players were millionaires.

The wage market isn't political or apolitical, good or evil, or whatever...... it just is. When the NCAA restraints were removed, it "bubbled." It will probably drop in time from the initial frenzy but it may continue to rise.

If I could predict market trends with great certainly I'd be in my private jet flying somewhere warmer and less dreary.

 

[WhenUrVolUrVFL]

What the hell does this discussion have to do with the topic of Tyler Baron? Go debate Milton in a Milton thread.

If a coach can’t make the right decision and put his team in position to win at an elite level—you go to a program that does that. That simple.

 

[DrTNT]

Joe wasn’t the best option we had. That is obvious. If you say things like that, you’re not smart. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Every player on the team loved and was behind Joe 100%, the only people who haven’t been are a portion of our fan ease who like to piss and moan of every little thing doesn’t go their way like a bunch of 3 year olds…

 

[Other_Guy]

Then he should have done a better job himself. Its a team sport.

I keep being told they hold him on every play. What's the back end's excuse?

 

[TJVol95]

we will see soon who is paying him

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

So, you don't mind the money, but you mind the amount of money players are getting?

Are you aware of how the market works: supply and demand as it relates to wages?

The previous "under the table" system improperly "stunted" wages, though they should've been higher. How do I know this? Within days of NIL rules changing, some players were millionaires.

The wage market isn't political or apolitical, good or evil, or whatever...... it just is. When the NCAA restraints were removed, it "bubbled." It will probably drop in time from the initial frenzy but it may continue to rise.

If I could predict market trends with great certainly I'd be in my private jet flying somewhere warmer and less dreary.

Yes. I mind the amount of money. This has created a free agency of sorts in college football. I don’t mind the kids getting something, but kids leaving a school after a couple of years just to chase more money bothers me. It’s one thing to transfer to hopefully get more playing time. But for more money? Not in favor

 

[Franklin_Vol09]

Edge is an area we have plenty of depth. Sucks but be hurt his Vol legacy by doing this. Next man up

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Yes. I mind the amount of money. This has created a free agency of sorts in college football. I don’t mind the kids getting something, but kids leaving a school after a couple of years just to chase more money bothers me. It’s one thing to transfer to hopefully get more playing time. But for more money? Not in favor

It's not like the money is "magically" appearing and these kids are responsible for the offers they're getting.

It's grown men running these collectives and making these offers, not college kids. I don't know about you but if someone offered me a Hellcat to drive and several thousand dollars while I played football for them in college, I'm taking it. It's really hard to blame the players here is my point.

It's fine to not be in favor of it but realize the trade off. We could shut down Spyre tomorrow and stop this NIL madness at UT. You won't like that either.

 

[Franklin_Vol09]

I see either the transfer portal changing or how NIL is executed will change. Threatening to leave every year for a bigger NIL deal is BS.

If you get a NIL deal, you are locked in for 3 years to a school no matter what with the option of a 4th. No transfer portal unless there is a head coaching change OR a school releases you.

 

[sami]

I'm not a big baseball follower but "juice" has been flowing in MLB at least since Willie and Hank were playing, mostly amphetamines, I'm told. Travel was crazy then and I get it.

Sosa, Bonds, A-Rod, etc made bank from junk and MLB shut their eyes to it because of the revenue the big home run era brought. A-Rod and Co were "good for baseball" until they weren't. The league was happy until they weren't.

The players take the brunt from the fans but MLB was using "plausible deniability" the whole time and counting that revenue. When they tossed the "cheaters" from the sport with righteous indignation it was like that scene in Casablanca when Capt Renault shuts down Rick's for gambling and is handed his casino winnings.

MLB, like college football, let a lot of it happen to cash in. NOW, they want to throw the players under the bus.

Agree, but my point was that A-Rod got crucified by fans for signing a contract that every one of them would have signed. He took the heat while the people who created the mess were encouraged by those same fans to spend more, more, more. And they then complain that it costs $600-800 to take a family of four to a ball game by the time travel, parking, and concessions are factored in.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

Ah. Makes sense now. Appreciate your "amen."
BLUE font for sarcasm. Black font for reason. White font for profanity-laced tirades.

Should I use a wine-colored font for when I am drunk-posting?

 

[sami]

I see either the transfer portal changing or how NIL is executed will change. Threatening to leave every year for a bigger NIL deal is BS.

If you get a NIL deal, you are locked in for 3 years to a school no matter what with the option of a 4th. No transfer portal unless there is a head coaching change OR a school releases you.

Contracts mean nothing in sports any more, but to me a big part of the problem would be solved if the portal issue was properly addressed. You get one free transfer, and from there you would have to sit out a year for any further transfers. That's reasonable, and teaches these kids some accountability for their decisions. Do I believe it will ever happen? No.