North Carolina jettisons Butch Davis as the ultimate result of a lengthy investigation into improper benefits being afforded to UNC football players. By the way, what amazingly bad timing by a program desperately trying to be relevant, hmmm another blog post for another time. There are also the well-documented and quite humorous actions by THE Ohio State University, it’s narcissistic president, neutered Athletic Director and SEC whipping boy Jim Tressel (Steve Spurrier's choice for the best dressed coach in football...or out of football...). All of this has contributed to turn the cry to “pay” college football players into a howl.
A popular proposal gaining traction to make this a reality is to allow college athletes to earn their market value (cough, cough, I'm looking at you Jay Bilas). Allow them to earn money based on what companies are willing to pay them to shill their products. The argument is if a Michael Phelps can retain his amateur Olympic swimming status, college athletes should be able to market themselves, earn cake and remain eligible to play. Rubbish. Olympic athletes retain their ability to participate in their respective Olympic sports, not collegiate sports once they take endorsement dollars...ask Jeremy Bloom.
My only disappointment with this model will be to see Tim Tebow donate millions of college endorsement dollars to some well-meaning orphanage and spend his money on mission trips so he can play moyle. Of course, I’m also very anxious to see what the steeplechase national champion spends her money on; I’m thinking a stick of Juicy Fruit maybe?
While I appreciate the out-of-the-box approach to an issue that has been blown into Y2K proportions, wagging this dog seems pointless. Are college athletes taking money? Yes. Have they always taken money? Yes. Will there always be incidents where athletes take money? Yes. What in the above endorsement model prevents an NFL-quality, but unmarketable defensive back from taking agent runner money when he sees a star QB making seven figures in endorsement money and he’s making $1.50? Nothing. The model does not solve the problem; it simply pushes the problem into a new tax bracket.
Until a financially viable minor-league system evolves, this is the system: football players go to college if they can, they get more than acceptable coaching in most cases, they have the opportunity to earn a college degree (a master’s degree is obtainable for the self-motivated), they receive professionally licensed nutritional counseling, they have access to Olympic-quality strength and conditioning facilities, they receive professionally licensed strength training, they receive academic tutoring (an even some “help” writing papers) and they receive room and board. We won't even discuss Pell Grants...
The popular argument is the players have no choice; that there are no alternative paths to a professional football career without college football and due to this fact they should be getting paid. Hot damn! I actually want to be a Marine Biologist or Architect; why should I have to go to college, learn skills applicable to those professions for free. Why should I produce revenue for others while I contribute to faculty research or complete an internship without getting paid? It’s slav….It’s rubbish.
I think the only real way to stop players from taking money is to get the NFL involved. Because let's face, it ain't the 2nd team DB that is the problem, it's the stars that NFL dreams dancing through their heads.
ReplyDeleteI think that the college and NFL players should not complain. College players sign a contract to play just as do NFL players. If they do not like the terms they have the right to not sign the contracts. As for the college players needing to be paid, they are. It is not much but it has real world value. They have to work their way up the latter. One thing they get from college is if you go to a big name school and and do great things you will start off with a higher salary in the NFL!
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