Posted on 03/27/2014 7:43:27 AM PDT by A'elian' nation
College football players should not be paid. Plain and simple. But there is no reason why any player should not be given carte blanche to capitalize on his chosen sport.
Capitalism 101 rides to the rescue once again. In addition to the free education players get, any player, on scholarship or not, should be allowed to sell and hawk his personal merchandise from t-shirt to jockstrap. He or she should be allowed to put his name and school name/logo on his jersey or helmet or whatever - just like the pros do. A player could sell and trade cards with his name and stats - anything he can come up with that is marketable.
Paying athletes to play and unionizing the sport is a terrible idea. It's just another desperate grab by the dying unions. Not only would the athlete earn limitless compensation, but these young college students would quickly learn all about Economics 101 and Conservatism 101 instead of just pocketing a paycheck and paying union dues.
The ideal of paying college football players is nonsense. First, only about 25 major programs make a profit as it is now. (One article says 22 in 2010, and I’ve heard 26 during some recent discussion on sports radio).
And does anyone seriously think, in today’s legal environment, that any school could get away with paying only football players?
There might be some basis for giving players a cut of profits made from merchandising, autographs and other profitable activities in which players might participate.
But the idea of paying players is complete nonsense. But, hey, what about those huge high school programs in football crazy states that make a profit? Should those HS boys be cut in on the profits? They don’t receive anything for their efforts but personal satisfaction and recognition. (And HS basketball players in some areas.)
The NFL requires him to go to college for at least a year instead of maintaining a farm system like MLB and the NHL. Big difference. I have a relative in MLB's farm system and he already has some good money in the bank.
Of course colleges have rights and naturally there would be restrictions, but I would think it would be better for the college ( in behalf of all of its sports - major and minor) to negotiate those rights instead of start paying athletes.
Guess it comes down to a cost analysis basis for the college.
It works real well in baseball. I've encountered students with the dilemma...do they risk injury playing college baseball or do they go into the minor leagues with a franchise working with them while they combine baseball and education?
With football, less thuggish egotists on campus pretending to get an education might benefit everyone.....including them.
There already is such a system in place.
Division 1 - which consists of the big league schools like the big ten who recruit the top-notch players and offer full-ride scholarships.
Division 2 - which offers scholarships.
Division 3 - which does not offer scholarships.
A player needs to prove himself in college because professional football is a whole nuther animal. A college student should remain in amateur status until he makes it to the pros. An athlete in college is not a low-wage worker, not when he is getting a full-ride scholarship worth a $100,000 or more.
I dealt personally with a top-tier basketball/baseball player at a major college. The guy had no interest in education and the system coddled him throughout.
Allowing standout college athletes to make money off of likenesses, jerseys, etc is the answer to this.
NCAA played themselves into this, and they were warned every step of the way.
Every step.
The NCAA is a cartel. Pure and simple. It needs to go away, just like the BCS did. It too was a cartel.
More proof that a fool and his money was lucky to find each other in the first place.
In medieval times they had something called an apprentice system. Young adults would accept a pittance for the benefit of learning a trade from the master. This is not the same as indentured servitude.
Apprentice mercantilism is not a bad idea even in these times. An athlete is getting more than just compensation or free tuition. He is gaining invaluable learning from coaches and trainers so he can become Pro material.
I have more compassion or concern for the trainer and water bucket boy enabling the “Star Player” than the athletes in question.
Funny, MLB and the NHL offer farm systems as an alternative. The NFL and NBA don't.
I have a cousin in AA minor league ball. Already has a nice sum in the bank while he learns his trade while striving to make The Show. That isn't an option in the NFL and NBA.
Actually the NBA does have a farm system, the D-league. They just don’t tend to use if very much (few players promote from the D-league to the NBA). The NFL tried having a farm system with NFL-Europe but it failed as a league, they do pull players out of the arena league, they could tighten their ties to that.
Do you guys really think the Div I premier athletes are getting an education? They might be getting a diploma but many of these guys graduate barely able to read and write.
For example USC got caught creating special classes just for their athletes which turned out to be fake, on paper only, classes.
There are thousands of stories out there where even at honest colleges the athletes, coaches and parents would pay “tutors” to do all the athletes assignments and take the exams for them.
College Athletes absolutely be on a stipend. It isn’t like they have time to hold a part-time job while they play or train. Personally I think they should be given $2k a month plus free tuition, housing, books and food.
That is nowhere near as robust as MLB’s farm system. I think they would develop better players if they set one up. Heck, that is why they bring in so many foreign players, they come through programs that emphasize skill development over time.
He could've gone minor leagues but he got that scholarship to the school he wanted. He went with the scholarship, which is a tough choice. He risked injury while the college over-used his arm. He got his diploma. He got his injury....no pro career. He would've been better off going with the pro career, and using his salary and bonuses to get the education later in life, when entering the real job market.
What's my point? If these athletes aspire to be pro atheletes, it's probably better for everyone if they are playing for the pros in farm systems. I'm surprised basketball doesn't do that.
The MLB and the NHL do not already have a system set up like the NFL and the NBA so they have to use farms teams.
“That isn’t an option in the NFL and NBA.”
Does make one wonder how those colleges keep getting all those football and basketball players, and why they are not all running to the baseball sandlots ?
I’m not defending the NFL or NBA in the least. They aren’t the issue in this thread I started. I just want to give any athlete more of an economic opportunity.
Your idea might work as well as it has in baseball. It would be a whole systemic change requiring much more politics and upheaval than simply liberating the individual player.
“Do you guys really think the Div I premier athletes are getting an education?”
I agree, all too many are not, and it’s a sad situation.
I mentioned medieval apprenticeship earlier, and the colleges are becoming more of an apprentice avenue to the Big Leagues than a place of learning.
All the more reason that athletes should not be paid if their only reason being there is not to learn but to become pro material.
Same applies for professional soccer in Europe. European colleges do not have sport programs. Colleges are not where farm material is bred.
Hmm, now where do all those star professional soccer players come from?
I don’t share my salary, but as business owner, I damned sure do share the revenues with all of that….true capitalism means you have to pay for everything…..
I’ve written about this for 20 years….analyzed it every way from Sunday - you’re way outta your league. For every question you got, I have ten thousand words of logic.
A scholarship is worth $200,000 or more for four years. There’s the players salary.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.