Can you imagine if the Cleveland Browns asked its fans in the “Dawg Pound” to ante up $230 million so the team could sign controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson to the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history?
Can you imagine if Jacksonville Jaguars “boosters” were asked to pool their money so the team could overpay for former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk, who just signed a four-year deal worth up to $84 million?
Could you imagine if Orlando Magic “donors” were expected to foot the bill for Jonathan Isaac’s $17.4 million-a-year salary even though he has missed the last two seasons due to injury?
A professional sports owner would be laughed out of town if he asked his fans to pay the salaries of the team’s athletes, but in college football that’s exactly what’s happening.
Exhibit A: Last week, according to a published report in the Athletic, a 5-star recruit who is now a high school junior signed an agreement with a school’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) collective that could pay him more than $8 million by the end of his junior year of college. The unnamed player will paid $350,000 almost immediately, followed by monthly payouts escalating to more than $2 million per year once he begins his college career.
There have been other rumors and rumblings about these “collectives” promising recruits massive amounts of NIL money to sign with a particular school. On National Signing Day, for instance, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher angrily addressed a report that an enormous $30 million NIL fund run by Aggies boosters was used to bring in the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
Don’t get me wrong, I say more power to those fans or fan collectives if they want to pay college athletes to make public appearances, interact with them on social media, come to little Billy’s birthday party, whatever. My issue is that college football programs are now essentially asking and expecting fans and boosters to foot the bill for player compensation via NIL deals.
College coaches and athletic directors have made it clear to their fan bases and booster networks that it’s up to them to dig deep into their pockets and come up with NIL money to make sure their favorite team can land Freddy Fivestar — the stud middle linebacker from Yeehaw Junction.
Seriously, don’t fans and donors already pay enough? Not only are they asked to write a check for their yearly booster contribution, write an extra check for the never-ending capital campaign to raise money for new facilities, pay for their season tickets, get fleeced for overpriced fleabag hotels on gameday weekends and buy $10 Cokes at the game, but now they’re being asked to fund their school’s NIL program, too.
I’ve got a better idea: If you’re going to pay the players then pay the players. Instead of counting on your fans to come up with the money, how about compensating the players with the countless millions of dollars colleges waste every year for palatial facilities they don’t really need, overpriced coaching staffs that have become all the rage and the exorbitant budget deficits created by the overspending and overstaffing. .
I’ll admit it, for the longest time, I was one of those who believed a free education was compensation enough for college athletes, but I have changed my stance in recent years after seeing the shameful way college ADs waste money.
There are a zillion instances of ADs spending money like Aunt Phyllis at a Bloomingdale’s clearance sale. The most glaring example in our state is FSU firing football coach Willie Taggart after a year-and-a-half and paying him nearly $20 million in buyout money for the four years remaining on his contract. Not to be outdone, the Florida Gators have paid about $35 million to buy out their last three football coaches — Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen.
If colleges can pay fired football coaches to NOT do their jobs then they should be able to pay their football players who ARE doing their jobs.
And while we’re on the topic of wasteful spending, does Alabama really need indoor waterfalls in its football complex? Does Oregon need a barber shop, marble showers and Ferrari leather chairs? Does Ohio State need a smoothie bar, an arcade and a golf simulator? Does Clemson need a bowling alley, laser tag and a mini-golf course?
Can you imagine any other business that makes an incredible amount of money, fritters away much of it with lavish spending then asks its customers to pay the salaries of its employees?
Welcome to NIL, where college football fans not only pay to attend the games but now are being asked to pay the athletes who play the game.
It’s a great business model if you can get away with it.
