How NIL should/could work

[ouchmyknee]

I posted this in another thread, but figured it might warrant its own. I've been slightly involved in some NIL stuff and have given a lot of thought around how the NCAA should have approached it. I think the following is the best outcome for all "student-athletes". Granted this might be ruled against by the courts, but let's pretend it wouldn't be.

Under my proposed NIL rules, all student athletes are eligible to earn compensation through use of their NIL through participation in a NCAA-wide players association. Under the association, players can earn compensation in the following ways:

• Revenue share for all officially licensed jerseys and apparel featuring said athlete (percentage negotiated by the players association)
• Direct compensation from the university to the athlete for use on athletics department advertising (if they are on an ad, they get reasonable comp. if they are not featured on an ad, they get nothing)
• Revenue share for officially licensed video games featuring said athlete (EA NCAA Football, NCAA March Madness, etc.)

Outside of those streams, I think it's fair for athlete's to be able to run camps but there should be some reasonable approved registration fee that must be adhered to (similar to how remediation companies all work off a state-approved price list).

Revenue streams outside of these options might be allowed but only up to a certain amount, otherwise the student athlete would lose their amateur status and not be eligible to continue participating in collegiate sports. All this being said, I do believe that there should be viable options for athletes to go "professional" right from high school - which would remove the athletes who have no interest in the academic part of being a student athlete.

For basketball, the NBA should expand the draft and allow high school players to enter their names (bypassing college) with placement on G League teams if they're not ready for the NBA team. For football, why can't NFL teams adopt an academy model where drafted high school players can enter into something similar to Overtime Elite. They could begin training, learning playbooks, etc. until the NFL team thinks they are ready. I wouldn't imagine this would be lucrative, but it could be an avenue for certain players.

Thoughts on the above?

 

[needmorecowbell]

I posted this in another thread, but figured it might warrant its own. I've been slightly involved in some NIL stuff and have given a lot of thought around how the NCAA should have approached it. I think the following is the best outcome for all "student-athletes". Granted this might be ruled against by the courts, but let's pretend it wouldn't be.

Under my proposed NIL rules, all student athletes are eligible to earn compensation through use of their NIL through participation in a NCAA-wide players association. Under the association, players can earn compensation in the following ways:

• Revenue share for all officially licensed jerseys and apparel featuring said athlete (percentage negotiated by the players association)
• Direct compensation from the university to the athlete for use on athletics department advertising (if they are on an ad, they get reasonable comp. if they are not featured on an ad, they get nothing)
• Revenue share for officially licensed video games featuring said athlete (EA NCAA Football, NCAA March Madness, etc.)

Outside of those streams, I think it's fair for athlete's to be able to run camps but there should be some reasonable approved registration fee that must be adhered to (similar to how remediation companies all work off a state-approved price list).

Revenue streams outside of these options might be allowed but only up to a certain amount, otherwise the student athlete would lose their amateur status and not be eligible to continue participating in collegiate sports. All this being said, I do believe that there should be viable options for athletes to go "professional" right from high school - which would remove the athletes who have no interest in the academic part of being a student athlete.

For basketball, the NBA should expand the draft and allow high school players to enter their names (bypassing college) with placement on G League teams if they're not ready for the NBA team. For football, why can't NFL teams adopt an academy model where drafted high school players can enter into something similar to Overtime Elite. They could begin training, learning playbooks, etc. until the NFL team thinks they are ready. I wouldn't imagine this would be lucrative, but it could be an avenue for certain players.

Thoughts on the above?

Once the universities get involved, so does title 9. That’s a lot of money to split up. NIL is the only way I see players getting paid in college.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I don't agree with it. Need a solution where athletes fairly are compensated, but isn't open for recruiting violations and "pay for play". I also don't believe in NIL.

My solution.......(as it pertains to hoops)

2 sources (that I can think of now)
1. NCAA basketball fund (comes from the NCAA tournament)
2. Licensed video games

Part of the revenue is payable immediately and part is in a trust fund that is payable in the future.

Source #1
50% of the NCAA basketball fund that goes to conference is payable to players.

2021 ACC and B1G had 18 units and will receive $36.4M
2021 ASUN had 1 unit and will receive $2M

50% is $18.2M to B1G players and $1M to ASUN players

B1G math 18.2/14 teams/13 players = $100,000 per player
ASUN 1M/13 teams/13 players = $5,917 player

Source #2
March Madness 2022
Madden is $300M per year. Let's say March Madness gets 20% of that amount

$30M to schools and $30M to players
$30M/362 schools/13 players=$6,374 per player

In total
B1G players has $106,374 go to the trust fund
ASUN players has $12,291 go to the trust fund

 

[ouchmyknee]

I don't agree with it. Need a solution where athletes fairly are compensated, but isn't open for recruiting violations and "pay for play". I also don't believe in NIL.

My solution.......(as it pertains to hoops)

2 sources (that I can think of now)
1. NCAA basketball fund (comes from the NCAA tournament)
2. Licensed video games

Part of the revenue is payable immediately and part is in a trust fund that is payable in the future.

Source #1
50% of the NCAA basketball fund that goes to conference is payable to players.

2021 ACC and B1G had 18 units and will receive $36.4M
2021 ASUN had 1 unit and will receive $2M

50% is $18.2M to B1G players and $1M to ASUN players

B1G math 18.2/14 teams/13 players = $100,000 per player
ASUN 1M/13 teams/13 players = $5,917 player

Source #2
March Madness 2022
Madden is $300M per year. Let's say March Madness gets 20% of that amount

$30M to schools and $30M to players
$30M/362 schools/13 players=$6,374 per player

In total
B1G players has $106,374 go to the trust fund
ASUN players has $12,291 go to the trust fund

Why not allow them to take a cut of jersey sales?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I don't agree with it. Need a solution where athletes fairly are compensated, but isn't open for recruiting violations and "pay for play". I also don't believe in NIL.

My solution.......(as it pertains to hoops)

2 sources (that I can think of now)
1. NCAA basketball fund (comes from the NCAA tournament)
2. Licensed video games

Part of the revenue is payable immediately and part is in a trust fund that is payable in the future.

Source #1
50% of the NCAA basketball fund that goes to conference is payable to players.

2021 ACC and B1G had 18 units and will receive $36.4M
2021 ASUN had 1 unit and will receive $2M

50% is $18.2M to B1G players and $1M to ASUN players

B1G math 18.2/14 teams/13 players = $100,000 per player
ASUN 1M/13 teams/13 players = $5,917 player

Source #2
March Madness 2022
Madden is $300M per year. Let's say March Madness gets 20% of that amount

$30M to schools and $30M to players
$30M/362 schools/13 players=$6,374 per player

In total
B1G players has $106,374 go to the trust fund
ASUN players has $12,291 go to the trust fund

Tough to predict how well college video games will sell. Back when the last game came out, all they were able to use were kids’ Jersey numbers in the games. There may have been lawsuits filed, but resemblance to actual players back then wasn’t likely to generate high volume sales the way it will now. Everything about a player used in a game - is going to be a true simulation. The player on the screen will look exactly like the real players - their name will be used with their real stats. Putting aside those actually interested in playing, there will be non-gamers who buy just for the novelty of seeing their son, grandson, buddies from high school, etc. featured as characters in a game. There are 1,500+ D1 players.

 

[batts]

New Jersey law currently does not allow schools to make direct compensation to student athletes. New Jersey colleges are therefore at a distinct disadvantage in competing against schools who have more liberal rules for NIL payments. The sooner our state government eases these restrictions the better.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Why not allow them to take a cut of jersey sales?

Revenue can go to all D1 athletes, but not to the individual.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

For basketball, the NBA should expand the draft and allow high school players to enter their names (bypassing college) with placement on G League teams if they're not ready for the NBA team. For football, why can't NFL teams adopt an academy model where drafted high school players can enter into something similar to Overtime Elite. They could begin training, learning playbooks, etc. until the NFL team thinks they are ready. I wouldn't imagine this would be lucrative, but it could be an avenue for certain players.

Thoughts on the above?

This I believe in.

 

[mildone]

Once again, proposals that seek attempt to limit what individual student-athletes can earn w/their NIL, in a way that doesn't apply to regular students who aren't athletes, are never going to fly. They will not clear the courts.

Perhaps @ouchmyknee's thoughtful proposal would've worked if the NCAA had adopted something along those lines a decade ago. And who knows, it might've put off the NIL decision for quite some time. No way to know.

I think there will be ways for the NCAA and/or universities to address the problems that arise from the growing financial free-for-all. But those methods will have to more along the lines of a steady reversal of the ease of transferring, or perhaps a generalized cap on NIL earning for each team within a given school.

But ultimately, there is no approach that imposes limits on student athletes that wouldn't ultimately be shot down by the courts. Team-wide caps or transfer rules could help and might clear court challenges because they don't limit any specific player in any specific way.

Sure, a student might sue because the cap prevents them from getting into school X (some blue blood high donor school). However, that's no different from scholarship limits and the implication in both scenarios is that the student in question wasn't good enough to beat out the competition for the NIL deal.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure people way smarter than me (and yes, I realize that's just about everybody 🙂) are already working on figuring this stuff out. So I'm not very worried about it. In time, stuff will work out fine. I suppose in the meantime, we'll all just have to endure fans and sports-writers and even some coaches or NCAA officials venting their agony over SCOTUS decision.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

The NCAA cannot step in and put any type of limitation or cap on a school's NIL because, technically, the money is not coming from the school. The agreements are between the player and whoever is giving them the money. The NCAA doesn't have any jurisdiction over the car dealership in Miami giving money to recruits. They had some authority over the recruits, but now the Court took that control over NIL away. And even if the players unionize (not gonna happen), how is the union and the NCAA going to solve 50 separate state laws on student athlete compensation? It would be like if instead of there being the New Brunswick Teachers Association and the Piscataway Teachers Association, there would be one singular union negotiating with every school district in the country on behalf of all teachers. It would never work.

At this point, the NCAA knows it is going to dissolve and the blueblood athletic departments are delighted because they want it to go away so they can form their new superconference, not share the money with any of the other 300 schools, and not be to blame as the bad guys.

Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC. These schools have no incentive to do anything, but buy all the players and then watch other teams stop trying to compete. Then they can package themselves together as "Big Time College Sports" get a monster of all television contracts, play only themselves, and everybody else can go back to some form of non-scholarship club sports.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

The NCAA cannot step in and put any type of limitation or cap on a school's NIL because, technically, the money is not coming from the school. The agreements are between the player and whoever is giving them the money. The NCAA doesn't have any jurisdiction over the car dealership in Miami giving money to recruits. They had some authority over the recruits, but now the Court took that control over NIL away. And even if the players unionize (not gonna happen), how is the union and the NCAA going to solve 50 separate state laws on student athlete compensation? It would be like if instead of there being the New Brunswick Teachers Association and the Piscataway Teachers Association, there would be one singular union negotiating with every school district in the country on behalf of all teachers. It would never work.

At this point, the NCAA knows it is going to dissolve and the blueblood athletic departments are delighted because they want it to go away so they can form their new superconference, not share the money with any of the other 300 schools, and not be to blame as the bad guys.

Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC. These schools have no incentive to do anything, but buy all the players and then watch other teams stop trying to compete. Then they can package themselves together as "Big Time College Sports" get a monster of all television contracts, play only themselves, and everybody else can go back to some form of non-scholarship club sports.

A super league like this is the last thing OSU, Michigan and Penn State want. They may not be able to stop it, but that’s different from wanting the outcome.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

A super league like this is the last thing OSU, Michigan and Penn State want. They may not be able to stop it, but that’s different from wanting the outcome.

It'll make them infinitely more money than they bring in even now. Being last place in SuperLeague20 will see more athletics income than first place in the Big Ten.

 

[RUsojo]

It'll make them infinitely more money than they bring in even now. Being last place in SuperLeague20 will see more athletics income than first place in the Big Ten.

PSU as an institutuion and culture would be completely destroyed if say they finished last in whatever conference they played in for 20 years. Would enjoy seeing that

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Once again, proposals that seek attempt to limit what individual student-athletes can earn w/their NIL, in a way that doesn't apply to regular students who aren't athletes, are never going to fly. They will not clear the courts.

Perhaps @ouchmyknee's thoughtful proposal would've worked if the NCAA had adopted something along those lines a decade ago. And who knows, it might've put off the NIL decision for quite some time. No way to know.

I think there will be ways for the NCAA and/or universities to address the problems that arise from the growing financial free-for-all. But those methods will have to more along the lines of a steady reversal of the ease of transferring, or perhaps a generalized cap on NIL earning for each team within a given school.

But ultimately, there is no approach that imposes limits on student athletes that wouldn't ultimately be shot down by the courts. Team-wide caps or transfer rules could help and might clear court challenges because they don't limit any specific player in any specific way.

Sure, a student might sue because the cap prevents them from getting into school X (some blue blood high donor school). However, that's no different from scholarship limits and the implication in both scenarios is that the student in question wasn't good enough to beat out the competition for the NIL deal.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure people way smarter than me (and yes, I realize that's just about everybody 🙂) are already working on figuring this stuff out. So I'm not very worried about it. In time, stuff will work out fine. I suppose in the meantime, we'll all just have to endure fans and sports-writers and even some coaches or NCAA officials venting their agony over SCOTUS decision.

What if the players had a union and accepted it.

 

[mildone]

What if the players had a union and accepted it.

What would compel those players, most likely to score big NIL money, to form a union? Not sure how it could work nationally, either, as different state courts might take different views on it.

Mostly, though, I just don't know enough about unions to form an opinion on the idea.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

What would compel those players, most likely to score big NIL money, to form a union? Not sure how it could work nationally, either, as different state courts might take different views on it.

Mostly, though, I just don't know enough about unions to form an opinion on the idea.

99% of players would earn more than they could make with NIL if they got a share of the NCAA basketball fund.

 

[ouchmyknee]

agreed that you probably can’t cap earnings in general, but not so sure you couldn’t as it relates to maintaining amateur status. If players can’t hire agents without giving up their amateur status then why can’t they NCAA impose an earnings cap regarding amateur status?

 

[HeavenUniv.]

How Rutgers, Seton Hall alums are addressing the NIL scene

Rutgers fans have launched an NIL collective. Seton Hall fans are taking a somewhat different approach. A look at the details and the concerns.

www.yahoo.com

 

[mildone]

99% of players would earn more than they could make with NIL if they got a share of the NCAA basketball fund.

Sure. But that’s entirely different and unrelated to them controlling and profiting from their NIL.

Once you start talking basketball fund, then we’re talking about the NCAA paying players. If the NCAA wants to compensate players, effectively licensing their NIL, then SCOTUS would probably be fine with it.

Then the question is if the NCAA, the schools, and the players would be fine with it.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

For clarification purposes,,,the NCAA basketball fund is currently where the dispersements to the conferences come from. I believe each conference gets a unit for each team that makes the tournament and a unit for every win. In 2022 each unit was $338,887 payable for 6 years = $2,033,322 overall.

Rutgers making the tournament this will put $145,237 in the revenue column for Northwestern and zero in the pocket of Geo Baker and Oskar Palmquist.

North Carolina making it to the finals adds 6 units to the ACC (1 for making it and 5 wins) 6* $2033322/16 teams. Pitt says thank you very much for that nice UNC last season run increasing their revenue $762,295 (over 6 years)

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

It'll make them infinitely more money than they bring in even now. Being last place in SuperLeague20 will see more athletics income than first place in the Big Ten.

Over time their programs would suffer tremendously even if it was a substantially bigger pay out.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Over time their programs would suffer tremendously even if it was a substantially bigger pay out.

They would suffer in the same way NFL teams suffer. In other words, their value would skyrocket even though they wouldn't make the playoffs or win a conference championship every other year.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

They would suffer in the same way NFL teams suffer. In other words, their value would skyrocket even though they wouldn't make the playoffs or win a conference championship every other year.

Bottom line is it’s not what Buckeye nation or Wolverine nation wants otherwise it would’ve happened already. Those teams are the glue holding the BIG together. Clemson and FSU are ready to roll. The SEC has basically announced that’s the plan they are pushing for by adding Texas and Oklahoma. It’s our conference mates who have no interest.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Bottom line is it’s not what Buckeye nation or Wolverine nation wants otherwise it would’ve happened already. Those teams are the glue holding the BIG together. Clemson and FSU are ready to roll. The SEC has basically announced that’s the plan they are pushing for by adding Texas and Oklahoma. It’s our conference mates who have no interest.

If i were to guess the unraveling would/might happen this way.....

SEC asks Clemson and FSU to join and kicks out Ole Miss and Mississippi State
OSU and UM sees what happens to ACC when this happens
OSU and UM accepts invite to SEC along with Texas and Okalahoma

SEC boots out Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, USCe and Kentucky and Arkansas and adds Notre Dame

SEC now has Clemson, FSU, OSU, UM, UT, OK, GA, FL, ALA, LSU, AUB, TAM

12 schools 11 games PLUS 1 OOC. Ton of revenue split among 12 teams.


Colleges in other conferences are left scrambling facing significant decline in media $. It becomes every man for themselves to join/make a secondary big conference.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

If i were to guess the unraveling would/might happen this way.....

SEC asks Clemson and FSU to join and kicks out Ole Miss and Mississippi State
OSU and UM sees what happens to ACC when this happens
OSU and UM accepts invite to SEC along with Texas and Okalahoma

SEC boots out Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, USCe and Kentucky and Arkansas and adds Notre Dame

SEC now has Clemson, FSU, OSU, UM, UT, OK, GA, FL, ALA, LSU, AUB, TAM

12 schools 11 games PLUS 1 OOC. Ton of revenue split among 12 teams.


Colleges in other conferences are left scrambling facing significant decline in media $. It becomes every man for themselves to join/make a secondary big conference.

If OSU and Michigan wanted to go they could go now and they’ve always known they can go at any point.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

If i were to guess the unraveling would/might happen this way.....

SEC asks Clemson and FSU to join and kicks out Ole Miss and Mississippi State
OSU and UM sees what happens to ACC when this happens
OSU and UM accepts invite to SEC along with Texas and Okalahoma

SEC boots out Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, USCe and Kentucky and Arkansas and adds Notre Dame

SEC now has Clemson, FSU, OSU, UM, UT, OK, GA, FL, ALA, LSU, AUB, TAM

12 schools 11 games PLUS 1 OOC. Ton of revenue split among 12 teams.


Colleges in other conferences are left scrambling facing significant decline in media $. It becomes every man for themselves to join/make a secondary big conference.

Also - this prophecy only seems feasible for football. Basketball can’t be a package deal unless a much larger number of teams are included. The more teams included, the less attractive a departure from the BIG becomes for the football blue bloods.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If OSU and Michigan wanted to go they could go now and they’ve always known they can go at any point.

No need for them to go now. Right now everything is great. It may be great in 1,3,5, and 10 years from now.

It appears the cost to put a competitive product on the field now is FACILITIES + COACHING STAFF + PAY FOR PLAYERS. The universe of schools equipped with a fanbase able and willing to support is some number between 15 and 50. With our added revenue from the B1G we are in good shape for 1 and 2, but I think the fanbase is on the hook for 3.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Also - this prophecy only seems feasible for football. Basketball can’t be a package deal unless a much larger number of teams are included. The more teams included, the less attractive a departure from the BIG becomes for the football blue bloods.

I think football is batman and basketball is robin.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

SEC boots out Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, USCe and Kentucky and Arkansas and adds Notre Dame

Tennessee will never get left out. Their boosters will pay almost anything (and have been for years). NIL is going to springboard their school back into the national championship hunt in football and basketball relatively quickly.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Also - this prophecy only seems feasible for football. Basketball can’t be a package deal unless a much larger number of teams are included. The more teams included, the less attractive a departure from the BIG becomes for the football blue bloods.

Football drives the bus. Basketball is a distant afterthought.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Tennessee will never get left out. Their boosters will pay almost anything (and have been for years). NIL is going to springboard their school back into the national championship hunt in football and basketball relatively quickly.

All I know about Tennessee is they have an orange uniform and allan Houston went there.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

All I know about Tennessee is they have an orange uniform and allan Houston went there.

Davenport’s demotion proves Haslams, failed businessmen, still run Tennessee Vols

By firing Chancellor Berverly Davenport, UT just proved that the Tennessee Vols are still run by the Haslams, who have failed at everything in business. Af...

allfortennessee.com

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Football drives the bus. Basketball is a distant afterthought.

Afterthought implies that it’s a given it goes along for the ride. That’s far from a given.

Basketball is dead on arrival if it only consists of the football schools and a few blue bloods (Duke, UK, etc.). This whole prophecy is about money and the math simply isn’t there for a 30-40 team super league. March Madness is the centerpiece of the sport. The sport could not survive its termination unless it wanted to take a financial hit to do so.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I think football is batman and basketball is robin.

No - they are not connected. Not unless something is worked out separately to preserve March Madness in a different way (without the NCAA). An NBA-like playoff following a 30-40 team lengthy basketball season would be dead on arrival. Complete bust.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Afterthought implies that it’s a given it goes along for the ride. That’s far from a given.

Basketball is dead on arrival if it only consists of the football schools and a few blue bloods (Duke, UK, etc.). This whole prophecy is about money and the math simply isn’t there for a 30-40 team super league. March Madness is the centerpiece of the sport. The sport could not survive its termination unless it wanted to take a financial hit to do so.

We have a real-world demonstration of "basketball not going along for the ride" - it collapsed the Big East conference and put every single school in that conference, except for us, in a less advantageous position. Ask UCONN if basketball should have gone along for the ride.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

We have a real-world demonstration of "basketball not going along for the ride" - it collapsed the Big East conference and put every single school in that conference, except for us, in a less advantageous position.

Exactly. Except that those breakaways were at the conference level. Wherever you landed you were still technically competing for the same college football playoff or bowl birth (maybe different tie ins) and the same March Madness tourney on the hoops side.

This would be entirely different. The super league would have its own system. For football, the national following wouldn’t miss a beat. In fact, it would grow because there are so few games to begin with and now all the games are competitive. Outside of those school alums, for basketball nobody cares about Alabama vs Miami or Oklahoma vs Florida State or Clemson vs. Penn State. I just named 30% of the proposed 20 team super league. Adding a few basketball powers doesn’t resolve the issues. It’s too drawn out of a season for this type of model. College hoops needs to culminate in a big event like March madness. Not a play off like the NBA where only 10 teams from the super league are left out.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Exactly. Except that those breakaways were at the conference level. Wherever you landed you were still technically competing for the same college football playoff or bowl birth (maybe different tie ins) and the same March Madness tourney on the hoops side.

This would be entirely different. The super league would have its own system. For football, the national following wouldn’t miss a beat. In fact, it would grow because there are so few games to begin with and now all the games are competitive. Outside of those school alums, for basketball nobody cares about Alabama vs Miami or Oklahoma vs Florida State or Clemson vs. Penn State. I just named 30% of the proposed 20 team super league. Adding a few basketball powers doesn’t resolve the issues. It’s too drawn out of a season for this type of model. College hoops needs to culminate in a big event like March madness. Not a play off like the NBA where only 10 teams from the super league are left out.

You think the boosters buying football relevance for Florida State and Auburn aren't going to buy basketball relevance, too? Of course they are. The same schools that are top tier (Top 20) in football are going to be top tier in basketball (Top 20). And more importantly, the blueblood basketball schools who aren't in SuperConference20? Most of them will fall apart ... because their schools aren't playing in SuperConference20, and they aren't getting that TV contract money, and they will be viewed as lesser athletic programs, and kids aren't going to want to play there as long as the money is in the same ballpark. Is Kentucky going to be able to overpay to stay relevant in basketball? Maybe. But Duke won't. Kansas won't. Louisville won't.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

You think the boosters buying football relevance for Florida State and Auburn aren't going to buy basketball relevance, too? Of course they are. The same schools that are top tier (Top 20) in football are going to be top tier in basketball (Top 20). And more importantly, the blueblood basketball schools who aren't in SuperConference20? Most of them will fall apart ... because their schools aren't playing in SuperConference20, and they aren't getting that TV contract money, and they will be viewed as lesser athletic programs, and kids aren't going to want to play there as long as the money is in the same ballpark. Is Kentucky going to be able to overpay to stay relevant in basketball? Maybe. But Duke won't. Kansas won't. Louisville won't.

They can buy a good basketball team, perhaps even a national championship caliber team. But so what? If they win something that’s only slightly more popular to follow than the G league championship - who gives a crap.

What they can’t buy is national interest - eye balls on the screen. The problem is there are too many games and not enough people interested in watching them. Even the Duke’s and Kentucky’s can’t carry the sport. Only March madness and the hype around it - bubble drama, etc. can.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

First of all, any proposal that begins with “Let’s pretend the courts won’t overturn this“ is doomed. The only viable solutions begin with what is legally feasible.

Secondly, why would players voluntarily join a union that would force them to give up massive amounts of compensation? With players making upwards of 7 figures, all the higher profile guys will want nothing to do with this. Neither will the schools who have rich donors and boosters.

Finally, all of the unions for other sports usually begin their negotiations around the revenue split from all the money the league is generating. For most of the major US sports that number is around 50%. That is why professional athletes willingly agree to belong to a union. Other than the SEC, none of the other conferences has shown any interest in sharing revenues with the players.

 

[ouchmyknee]

First of all, any proposal that begins with “Let’s pretend the courts won’t overturn this“ is doomed. The only viable solutions begin with what is legally feasible.

Secondly, why would players voluntarily join a union that would force them to give up massive amounts of compensation? With players making upwards of 7 figures, all the higher profile guys will want nothing to do with this. Neither will the schools who have rich donors and boosters.

Finally, all of the unions for other sports usually begin their negotiations around the revenue split from all the money the league is generating. For most of the major US sports that number is around 50%. That is why professional athletes willingly agree to belong to a union. Other than the SEC, none of the other conferences has shown any interest in sharing revenues with the players.

You never know what the allure of being in a video game would do to some players. I bet some would join a player union just to be in the game.