You are correct that these kids do not have a gun to their head. You're also correct that they could go to play in Canada or the Arenal leagues. Those are the options that exist today.
What you don't seem to grasp is the billions and billions at play for TV contracts. Right now, ESPN can only negotiate with groups that have a product. Right now, the best product is the power 5 conferences and that's because they have the best players.
Do you really think everyone else with money is going to stand on the sidelines and watch colleges bring in these kinds of revenues forever? Do you really think someone or a group of people with the financial resources are not going to sit back and ask themselves....how much would it cost to siphon off 50% of the top 2,000 players in CFB?
To put some historical perspective on it, there was a time when NFL owners thought they were untouchable. They thought they 'owned' the rights to professional football in the US. They scoffed at the idea of teams in Buffalo, Boston, Dallas and Denver putting a dent in 'their league'....
10 years later the AFL merged with the NFL.
I have no issue with this. I agree the money is too big to not be exploited. Something will change sooner or later...too much money for this not to happen.
They get housed in dorms where they have to follow the rules that don't make sense to them. They get books and tuition for classes they don't want to go to. They get to go to parties but have to watch every single step out of fear of losing their eligibility.
Like many here, you really are not looking at this from the perspective of the typical college football player.
Everything you mention that is being provided to them could be provided on an equal or grater value by a development league. It's just a matter of someone with enough money crunching the numbers and seeing that there is a lot of money to be made if you don't have to feed the fat cats at the university.
Yes, every student has to follow rules. If it doesn't "make sense", maybe they should seek counseling or maybe college is not for them. Again, if they don't want to go to classess, go to the CFL or AFL until a league like you described is organized.
Yes, they have to be careful at parties if they're at a high profile D1 Power 5 school (which are the only ones I'm referring to b/c they're the only ones generating this revenue...not sure why you brought D3 or D1 mid-majors into the discussion)
.Saban and Harbaugh are just two of the coaches. Speaking of Harbaugh, I wonder how the kids who signed with him at Stanford felt about him leaving for the NFL. They signed up to be developed by him but then were told tough sh*t about transferring if they wanted to. I wonder what the kids at LSU felt when Saban bounced to the NFL.
Really? they probably felt the same as Harbaugh, Saban and others feel when a kid leaves early for the pros, breaks the law leading to expulsion, transfers w/o penalty to be closer to grandma who is suffering from in-grown butt hairs or flips to a rival school after multiple promises that they will keep their verbal commitment and sign.
Many of these kids do not give a crap about Pell Grants. Many of these kids don't give a crap about getting a degree.
So the kids that need more spending money "do not give a crap about Pell Grants (free money)'? Please explain b/c I pray that even elite athletes aren't so entitled that they're too lazy to have someone help them fill out the proper papwerwork to receive additional funds.
Do you think these kids have some sort of misguided notion that even though they had to struggle to even get eligible they are somehow going to excel in college? They don't.
No, if they don't want to go to college & worry about being eligible for something they're not interested in, they should take their talents to the CFL or AFL until they prove worthy of being drafted inthe NFL. For the millioneth time....if it's money they want & schoolwork & rules they want to avoid...there's options...it may not include a $25 million signing bonus but sooner or later they have to earn an invite to the NFL...no?
But are you serious in asking what they need spending money for? Jesus Christ you sound like a plantation owner. I feed the slaves, I house the slaves, I give them something to do each day...just what do they need to learn how to read or write for? Why do they need to be paid for their labor.
You just offended people's forefathers who were unfortunate enough to have actually suffered slavery...you owe them an apology for comparing their plight to an elite athlete from a division 1 Power5 school who chose to attend said school on their own free will. But I digress...They are being paid for their labor...if not, how could they afford books, tuition, room/board, meals, healthcare, premium athletic gear (clothes & shoes), elite strenght & conditioning to assist them on their "labor", a dietician to ensure they are getting the healthiest food money can buy, (again) elite coaching to develop their talents to the maximum. A Pell Grant will cover money for clothes, meals, cell phone, etc. So what specifically are they being deprived of?
Title IX applies to college athletics. College athletics is corrupt. Remove the aspect of college from the picture and Title IX goes away.
Agreed.
We agree on a lot of your notions about another entity stepping in to generated revenue for a league that can sign players out of HS who are not interested in college studies but aren't ready for the NFL and need to support their families.
You're continually all over the place, so it's hard to keep up. Why you drifted to the non Power 5 football athletes is muddying the water. The Ball States, FAUs of the FBS or the numerous FCS schools or the D1AA - D2 - D3 athletes shouldn't be incl in this discussion as I'm not aware them generating the billions of dollars that we originally discussed...Those classifications are for anthother thread.
I went to an NAIA school where I walked on the baseball team. Injuries prevented me from fulfilling by desire to be in uniform but the best I could've hoped for is a work study option. It consisted of busy work (landscaping, weedeating around the flag pole, mowing the field, manning the sign=in desk at the weightroom) that would justify funds toward my tuition & room/board. Instead, I resorted to a small academic scholarship that covered my first year tuition & then worked full time. My parents weren't wealthy enough to stroke a check to send me to school so I had to take loans out which required reams of paperwork that you seem to allude that athletes don't give a crap about (when referencing Pell Gants). I also did a little research to find I could get some finanical relief while rehabbing my ACL injuries b/c it prevented me from working. This helped offset my expenses while I couldn't work. I was the only male teenager at the Welfare office to apply for relief. And I was just an average college student so don't act like it's hard for student-athletes to do something similer toward Pell Grant b/c I know for a fact they have resources in the athletic dept to assist them in this...it's in both parties best interest. Oh yeah, if I wanted anything extra (not that Beats by Dre were available in the early 90s) I carpooled w/ buddies to the plasma center and spent 45 minutes w/ aa 17-gauge needle in my arm which drained my plasma for a cool $20 twice a week.
