Is it time to start paying High School athletes ?

[Bighorn66]

hear me out

used to be you went to college on an athletic scholarship and you got free college, free medical, housing, traveled all over the place and experienced many things free with a promise of a diploma if you earned it and possibly a pro career

now NIL existed

AAC requiring minimum $10M payout to athletes

The American Athletic Conference will require each member except Army and Navy to provide athletes with at least $10 million in additional benefits over the next three years.

www.espn.com

The American Athletic Conference will require each member except Army and Navy to provide athletes with at least $10 million in additional benefits over the next three years, making it the only league so far to set a minimum standard with revenue sharing expected to begin in Division I sports in July.

OK. If they're going to revenue share .... why wouldn't this be applicable to high school kids? High school sports can bring in $$$$$$$ too right ?

I went to college on an athletic scholarship and had to work my ass off for it. Squeezing in studying after three hours of practice and around road trips is not as glamorous as you seem to make it. Not to add all the coeds who are vying for your time and attention. And then there are the off-season unofficial practices. We had seven per week when I was playing.

The NCAA is one of the most morally corrupt organizations in the world. The schools and the administrators were exploiting athletes to fill their coffers all while placing ridiculous restrictions on what athletes can and can’t do.

 

[Phys251]

There is very little difference between the NFL and NCAAF, imo.

Um.

I'm no football expert, but even I can see light years of difference between the two.

 

[Rexedgar]

Um.

I'm no football expert, but even I can see light years of difference between the two.

Both are businesses that took advantage of their laborers, until the laborers got a piece of the pie, or a slice more representative of their contribution.

 

[MAGAnificent]

hear me out

used to be you went to college on an athletic scholarship and you got free college, free medical, housing, traveled all over the place and experienced many things free with a promise of a diploma if you earned it and possibly a pro career

now NIL existed

AAC requiring minimum $10M payout to athletes

The American Athletic Conference will require each member except Army and Navy to provide athletes with at least $10 million in additional benefits over the next three years.

www.espn.com

The American Athletic Conference will require each member except Army and Navy to provide athletes with at least $10 million in additional benefits over the next three years, making it the only league so far to set a minimum standard with revenue sharing expected to begin in Division I sports in July.

OK. If they're going to revenue share .... why wouldn't this be applicable to high school kids? High school sports can bring in $$$$$$$ too right ?

NIL and expansion of the transfer portal and destroying college football.

 

[Phys251]

Both are businesses that took advantage of their laborers, until the laborers got a piece of the pie, or a slice more representative of their contribution.

That much is true, but they're still two different organizations.

 

[Rexedgar]

NIL and expansion of the transfer portal and destroying college football.

And basketball, no cinderellas this year, probably won’t be in the future. Takes something out of the tournament, imo.

 

[stealthycat]

NIL and expansion of the transfer portal and destroying college football.

they should make the players sign multi-year contracts like they do anytime athletes get paid

you want $500,000 NIL and play for Duke ? 3 year contract

 

[MAGAnificent]

they should make the players sign multi-year contracts like they do anytime athletes get paid

you want $500,000 NIL and play for Duke ? 3 year contract

I think it was a mistake to start paying them at all beyond the scholarships, room and board, and living expenses. Now, rather than it being about "team", it's about "How much will I be paid?" If they are going to give them lavish contracts, it's just a mini-version of the NFL. In the long run, this will hurt the NFL as well.

 

[Rexedgar]

I think it was a mistake to start paying them at all beyond the scholarships, room and board, and living expenses. Now, rather than it being about "team", it's about "How much will I be paid?" If they are going to give them lavish contracts, it's just a mini-version of the NFL. In the long run, this will hurt the NFL as well.

I disagree, although they have opened a can of worms, IMO. The NCAA had been taking advantage of the “laborers” for years. The pendulum has swung way wide. This just proves the old adages about greed and money. The NCAA is going to open their sports money-makers to private equity investment. That old fable about the golden goose applies here and in the NFL.

 

[MAGAnificent]

The NCAA had been taking advantage of the “laborers” for years.

I disagree. College athletes are not laborers. They are students who also happen to be athletes. Because of their athletic ability, they earn scholarships and get a free education. If they perform well enough on the field, they get a good chance at getting drafted into the NFL. If you think the players are being taken advantage of, it's the universities that are taking the risk and making all the investments. Athletics is just part of that. It's more the colleges that develop a good program and hire the best coaches that do well then individual talent. And having a successful athletic program helps recruit students, even students that have no desire to participate in sports.

 

[Risky Thicket]

hear me out

used to be you went to college on an athletic scholarship and you got free college, free medical, housing, traveled all over the place and experienced many things free with a promise of a diploma if you earned it and possibly a pro career

now NIL existed

AAC requiring minimum $10M payout to athletes

The American Athletic Conference will require each member except Army and Navy to provide athletes with at least $10 million in additional benefits over the next three years.

www.espn.com

The American Athletic Conference will require each member except Army and Navy to provide athletes with at least $10 million in additional benefits over the next three years, making it the only league so far to set a minimum standard with revenue sharing expected to begin in Division I sports in July.

OK. If they're going to revenue share .... why wouldn't this be applicable to high school kids? High school sports can bring in $$$$$$$ too right ?

OH HELL NO!

Money changes everything and it has certainly ****ed up professional sports as it is now ****ing up college sports. No way, no way, money should be paid to high school athletes. You're screwing with kid's lives at that point and unintended consequences abound.

 

[Risky Thicket]

I disagree, although they have opened a can of worms, IMO. The NCAA had been taking advantage of the “laborers” for years. The pendulum has swung way wide. This just proves the old adages about greed and money. The NCAA is going to open their sports money-makers to private equity investment. That old fable about the golden goose applies here and in the NFL.

Tell it, brother.

 

[Rexedgar]

Tell it, brother.

It’s too late, RT, you know they have been scouting high school kids for a while, what are the chances no money has changed hands?

 

[BirdinHand]

I’m all for removing sports from education, period.

When we have multimillion dollar stadiums and schools can’t afford books, school lunches, technology in the form of a laptop/iPad for every kid and enough teachers, aids, etc?

Our priorities are screwed up.

Same with colleges where there are gigantic sport programs and young adults are otherwise walking away buried under tens of thousands in debt.


Time to stop spending so much time, money and resources on sports.

 

[Risky Thicket]

It’s too late, RT, you know they have been scouting high school kids for a while, what are the chances no money has changed hands?

Oh yeah, it's happening and I can't stand it. Sports used to be fun before it became choreographed and perfect. And all that was and is today what we have.

I cannot give you a date or year but there was a time when sports was about the game, the competition. Now, god help us, now it is so screwed up colleges have to hire marketing consultants and uniform design specialists to attract the attention of prospective players, to appeal to the fans and to create additional team/department/university revenue via sales of anything related to the school, sport and player.

Now college offense teams often hold hands before a kickoff. Why? What's the value in it? Everybody is lined up, dressed the same with their favorite number and more. Why? I suppose some marketing wonk convinced the head coach and the athletic director that it looks better in some way. All about marketing which is all about revenue and not, decidedly, about the game itself.

Don't me started.

Kirby Smart (UGA) said in a recent interview that an issue most football coaches now face is kids are more difficult to coach than they used to be. The come, often with fat NIL money and big promised of NFL in a few years, pampered, treated like heroes and convinced in many ways that they already have the skill sets and ability to conquer every opponent. They are not as willing to pay attention to the basics, say Smart. They are often unprepared. Smart blamed much of it on the NIL mess and said that while most coaches do not talk about it in public, coach to coach or in small meetings coaches share the same concerns.

 

[Rexedgar]

Oh yeah, it's happening and I can't stand it. Sports used to be fun before it became choreographed and perfect. And all that was and is today what we have.

I cannot give you a date or year but there was a time when sports was about the game, the competition. Now, god help us, now it is so screwed up colleges have to hire marketing consultants and uniform design specialists to attract the attention of prospective players, to appeal to the fans and to create additional team/department/university revenue via sales of anything related to the school, sport and player.

Now college offense teams often hold hands before a kickoff. Why? What's the value in it? Everybody is lined up, dressed the same with their favorite number and more. Why? I suppose some marketing wonk convinced the head coach and the athletic director that it looks better in some way. All about marketing which is all about revenue and not, decidedly, about the game itself.

Don't me started.

Kirby Smart (UGA) said in a recent interview that an issue most football coaches now face is kids are more difficult to coach than they used to be. The come, often with fat NIL money and big promised of NFL in a few years, pampered, treated like heroes and convinced in many ways that they already have the skill sets and ability to conquer every opponent. They are not as willing to pay attention to the basics, say Smart. They are often unprepared. Smart blamed much of it on the NIL mess and said that while most coaches do not talk about it in public, coach to coach or in small meetings coaches share the same concerns.

It’s become like any other business, the bean-counters get involved and it all soon goes to shit.

I get free-agency as it applies to the NFL, but that was when I started to lose interest. Players jumped from team to team and the solidarity of having players gel and become a unit was gone. I understand that most players have a short sports career span and that the NFL was trying all it could to keep from the expenses generated by the abuse of the body that players go through. When CTE got some traction, in the press, the NFL was still marketing “best hits” tapes and CDs.

The NFL seems to be an outlier in that they haven’t seemed to suffer any economic effect of trying to get their product sequestered behind paywall and basically squeeze every nickel that they can. I have been predicting their demise for years……..

The NCAA Tournament hasn’t had the allure of past years, hell, the Final Four consists of all #1 seeds.

 

[Rexedgar]

I’m all for removing sports from education, period.

When we have multimillion dollar stadiums and schools can’t afford books, school lunches, technology in the form of a laptop/iPad for every kid and enough teachers, aids, etc?

Our priorities are screwed up.

Same with colleges where there are gigantic sport programs and young adults are otherwise walking away buried under tens of thousands in debt.


Time to stop spending so much time, money and resources on sports.

Things that aren’t going to happen for $200, Alex…

 

[BirdinHand]

Things that aren’t going to happen for $200, Alex…

And it boggles my mind.

All the blabbering about how “American schools are failing” and “American students are falling behind” and I guarantee you, way too many kids spend way more hours worrying about football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc practice and their athletic skills than their math scores.

We have kids who don’t have laptops and books…but schools with multimillion dollar athletic stadiums, equipment, etc.

Is there any other country on the planet that does this?

 

[stealthycat]

OH HELL NO!

Money changes everything and it has certainly ****ed up professional sports as it is now ****ing up college sports. No way, no way, money should be paid to high school athletes. You're screwing with kid's lives at that point and unintended consequences abound.

do you believe in paying high school kids to work a drive through at McDonalds ?

 

[Risky Thicket]

do you believe in paying high school kids to work a drive through at McDonalds ?

Yes.

 

[stealthycat]

Yes.

do you know how much time athletes put into their practice/gym etc so the Friday night stadium of thousands can have quality entertainment?

that's pretty much why we have NIL payments - college football is a billion dollar business, right ? athletes get their share of that

High School athletics is just a smaller version isn't it ?

 

[Risky Thicket]

do you know how much time athletes put into their practice/gym etc so the Friday night stadium of thousands can have quality entertainment?

that's pretty much why we have NIL payments - college football is a billion dollar business, right ? athletes get their share of that

High School athletics is just a smaller version isn't it ?

In high school I played football and I wrestled. I did it because I enjoyed it. I didn’t do track because I didn’t like it. The thought of getting paid never crossed my mind.

Today I’m too old for football or wrestling. I still lift and I enjoy that. Are you saying I should get paid to do the things I enjoy?

High school is mandatory. High school sports are not. College athletes on scholarship get a free college education. That’s a bad deal for doing something they love? I think not. Sure most hope to go pro one day but the reality is that most will not make the pros and even fewer will play.

It’s been a while since I looked but around 60% of pro football players file for bankruptcy within 2 years after retiring. How many of them have college degrees to fall back on? Most do not. There is a lot of reality in that.

Yea, the game has changed and like most everything in America it has been monetized. We are a nation of money grubbing whores.

Many of us are still more interested in the sport than we are in glitter.

“Money changes everything” - C. Lauper