Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Without time in a developmental league, because 99.9999999% of 18 year olds couldn't play football in the NFL. And there's plenty of money and fan interest in developmental football in this country, some of which should make it's way to the players, because that is what is fair.
In what other industry could you be paid in a non-monetary way for work and everyone would pretend it's ok? Why is this different?
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Tradition is why it is different and just like all other stupid traditions, this one will eventually go away too. Unfortunately, it is going to be around for quite a while longer.
I still can't fathom how many people find it acceptable that these guys are being employed without cash payments while in turn the companies they work for are directly signing contracts for billions of dollars due to the work being done by them. It literally hurts my head when I think about it.
It would be impossible, because Texas Tech would never win a recruiting battle against Texas under those circumstances. Texas would get ALL the best players and proceed to beat TT 77-0 every year. TT probably wins some recruiting battles now because they can offer playing time that Texas maybe cannot, but who the hell prefers playing time to $75k/year?!?
Revering4Blue (09-26-2013)
Well, in the legal field, tons of students work as unpaid interns to build their resume before they graduate and pass the bar. Even those who get paid are paid very little. There are plenty of other fields that use college students as unpaid interns. Why do college students compete over these internships when there's no money in it? Sometimes experience is more important than money.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
"Even a bad day at the ballpark beats the snot out of most other good days. I'll take my scorecard and pencil and beer and hot dog and rage at the dips and cheer at the highs, but I'm not ever going to stop loving this game and this team and nobody will ever take that away from me." Roy Tucker October 2010
Revering4Blue (09-26-2013)
And yet teams with better talent on paper lose to teams with less talent on paper every weekend in college football. Texas Tech isn't winning any recruiting battles against Texas right now anyways. They win in some cases because there is quicker playing time as you noted.
Right now, all of the best players are already going to the top 10-15 schools anyways. The top SEC/Big10/Pac10/Big12 schools get what, 90% of the 4 and 5 star recruits? That isn't going to change and it is going to leave everyone else fighting for the scraps, just like it is now. The difference is, the kids actually get more fairly compensated this way.
While stating, again, that I don't mind if the athletes get money in principle, I still have to devil's-advocate here: Are all football players employees, or only some players at some places?
What about the football players at colleges that don't make money on football?
What about walk-ons? They're not even getting the scholarship.
What about scholarship athletes in non-revenue sports? They put in the work too.
What about the people on scholarship for academics or the arts? Are they employees of the university?
Are high-school football players "workers"? If not, why not? They put in a lot of time. Tickets are sold to the games.
Where's the dividing line between those who are being exploited and those who are actually getting a heck of a deal? Does it have anything to do with the player himself, or just what boss-man is pulling down?
OK. Having said that.
The essential concept of a scholarship is this: We have a football team/tennis team/music department/computer science program, it'll give our university a boost if we attract high-caliber students like you, so if you choose to attend our school, we'll pay some/all of the cost. That has not changed. What has changed is, at SOME colleges -- not nearly all -- the football program is generating ridiculous sums of money now.
I can accept the reasoning that the money has just become too big among a certain group of schools for strict amateurism to continue. But so many of these screeds read like a blanket dismissal of the entire principle of scholarships, or the mere existence of non-professional sports. Considering the entire universe and not just the Johnny Manziels, I think that's a little myopic.
Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice
jojo (09-26-2013),Revering4Blue (09-26-2013)
If you have a football program, then they are an employee.
Cut your football program.What about the football players at colleges that don't make money on football?
Are they on the team? Then they are an employee. Pay them.What about walk-ons? They're not even getting the scholarship.
Like every other business that loses money, cut it off. If your sport can't support itself, then sorry about your luck. No business operates on losses like this. Except for college athletics.What about scholarship athletes in non-revenue sports? They put in the work too.
Does the school sell the work that they do? If not, then no, they are not employees. If the school is using their work to make money, then yes.What about the people on scholarship for academics or the arts? Are they employees of the university?
Does the sport profit? Are students paying tens of thousands of dollars to go there?Are high-school football players "workers"? If not, why not? They put in a lot of time. Tickets are sold to the games.
The dividing line needs to be somewhere. I don't have a problem with the school making a profit of some kind. They put it all together. But what would be wrong with the school keeping 20-30% profit and the rest gets paid to the players?Where's the dividing line between those who are being exploited and those who are actually getting a heck of a deal? Does it have anything to do with the player himself, or just what boss-man is pulling down?
I have long said that if a sport can't support itself, either by ticket sales/other revenue sources or by donations, then they shouldn't be operating. Title IX makes that flat out impossible and I hate Title IX for that reason.The essential concept of a scholarship is this: We have a football team/tennis team/music department/computer science program, it'll give our university a boost if we attract high-caliber students like you, so if you choose to attend our school, we'll pay some/all of the cost. That has not changed. What has changed is, at SOME colleges -- not nearly all -- the football program is generating ridiculous sums of money now.
I can accept the reasoning that the money has just become too big among a certain group of schools for strict amateurism to continue. But so many of these screeds read like a blanket dismissal of the entire principle of scholarships, or the mere existence of non-professional sports. Considering the entire universe and not just the Johnny Manziels, I think that's a little myopic.
I have no issue at all with scholarships. I get the idea behind them. I like that they are offered. But at the end of the day when the NCAA is signing multi-billion dollar contracts for football and basketball tv deals, then something needs to change if none of that money is going to the players that people care to watch. They are the product. Everyone is getting paid except for the participants. Fix it.
They would be though. Each team only has so many spots available. Right now, nor in any future, are Ohio State and Wittenberg going to be going after the same player. Ohio State could have landed every player if they wanted to on the roster of the 2002 Cincinnati Bearcats. Money had nothing to do with it. They could have landed every last player if they wanted to. Yet that 2002 Bearcats team hung right with them. This distribution of talent is already happening and has been for a really long time. The best talent is going to the schools that win. The schools that win keep getting the best talent. The teams with the most money are still going to be those same schools just like the teams with the least money are going to continue to be the teams losing by 30 points to those teams.
The differences would be even more pronounced. The concentration of the best players at the most profitable programs would be much greater. Right now, the top 15-20 programs get a great deal of the top players, but there are another 30-40 programs who pick off a number of those top players (some might get one of them; others get 4 or 5 of them a year). With this system, literally the top 300 players would ALL go to one of 10-15 schools that could afford to pay. And they would become WAY too good for everyone else and would probably have to form their own division.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |