re: 7 Figure NIL Backing

At that point they could just do like MLB , and have minor leagues and showcases.

Sure they can. It just comes out of the AD budget as something else. Can funnel it through boosters to the companies sponsoring. 8 million is a drop in the budget for LSU's revenue. What these businesses are doing probably isn't sustainable so where do you think they're getting the money? It's a way to make their business look better but use it as a front to pay. There isn't much risk doing this for them and they're definitely not losing money since it's not their money to begin with. They'll come up with something elaborate don't worry about it.

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At this point why even pretend that they are college students.

Just acknowledge that they are revenue generating entertainment.

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You've hit on a key theme that often gets lost. Football, and sports in general, are entertainment. That's it. We spend big money, dedicate lots of time and join the athletes in their accomplishments. But at the end of the day, sports are like movies. We pay to watch them play and in some ways live vicariously through what we see on the screen. When they win, we say "WE" are the champions. We buy the jerseys, the shirts, the hats, seat covers, the mugs ... We are the market for the product that is put on the field and for every item that receives value as a result of that product. TV rights, ESPN contracts, hospitality and entertainment all represent 100's of millions of dollars. The top 10 revenue grossing colleges are cranking from $90MM to over $120MM per year. That's just the program at the University. That doesn't even get into the economic impact to local businesses.

At the end of the day, people acknowledge but don't really want to admit that a LOT of money has been made on the backs of young men and women who were not allowed to participate. Hell, people are willing to donate 100's of millions of dollars to affect coaching changes. I'll give you $17MM to fire that guy. Seriously, we are willing to give O that much money to go away but we are going to bitch about a young person being able to market their own likeness based on their hard work and efforts? Oh and it doesn't take a buyout to get rid of a kid who probably works as hard if not harder than the coach (in many cases).

In the case of college football, any game, any play, could be the last one of the athlete's career. And it's not like these young people are sitting on the couch collecting these checks. These kids have been busting their butts for their entire lives to this point. And it's hard work. Get up early every day. Get out there and go through the workouts. Go through their daily grind. Get measured constantly. Have people constantly judging, dissecting and testing you. Over 98% of these kids will never play on an NFL team. So hell yes they should be able to participate in the market which they helped create while they can.

Ask yourself, would you be willing to go through all of this only to have an organization or government tell you that you were not allowed to capitalize on your efforts while others made millions at your expense?

All so that we, as fans, can be entertained. So that WE can help claim our share of the championship.

College Football is not destroyed. College football is simply changing. And it's going to keep changing. This is just the initial response to NIL. The system will mature and develop. We will get used to how it works and things will quiet back down until another controversial event stirs up the kicking and screaming about how the sport has been ruined again.

I get that the game of college football has changed since the days of Keith Jackson voice rattled the speakers of your tube driven console TV and there's a nostalgic warmth of those memories. But the world has been in a constant cycle of change since the beginning and that's the way it always will be. So it's good to remember that in the great scheme of things, College Football is just entertainment. It's also good to remember that we, as fans, have played a big role in where football is today. Our passion has pumped big money and high demands into this sport. The market is simply responding and adapting. That's just the way it is.

And if you miss the way college football used to be, get out the VHS, watch some old tapes when the pads were much bigger and they only made a few different helmet sizes. You can still have that world too.