Tennessee Being Investigated for NIL Violations

[WhosYourDawggy]

The overwhelming majority of players -- they are overpaying for their services.

Tuition isn't what I was referring to when I was talking about the value of a D1 scholarship. Tuition is great, but that is only about 100-200k depending where you go. EVERYTHING that goes along with that scholarship is why it is worth roughly 500k+ a year.

Take your school -- Just your football program has 59 people on the football staff at the beckon call of the football team. From athletic trainers, to strength coach, all the way down to a head chef. All of that is available to these kids, FREE OF CHARGE. The state of the art facilities they work out in, they indoor practice facilities, all the latest greatest technology to track their athletic performance during practices are all available to these kids, FREE OF CHARGE. They have the best equipment, the best shoes, the top of the line gear no one else has, and the supply is endless, all FREE OF CHARGE. You need a tutor at "fill in the blank"

You are talking as if all an athletic scholarship involves is tuition. The free school is definitely a great perk, but it is everything else provided to student athletes that provide the value to them.

I'd say this -- pay the players, but whatever school they went to reserves the rights to 25% of any money earned in the NFL for all the training and coaching they provided.

LOL ... they can try to negotiate for that, but it isn't going to happen. I hope you know that and are just venting.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

Whatever it is, I just hope Tennessee kicks the NCAA's ass in court and drives the final nail in their anachronistic coffin.

Not likely. First, the AG really isn't a party to the dispute. It's likely that they will not be found to have standing to sue. If they do, it will be as a representative of UTjr. The problem with that is that the courts tend to give great deference to membership rules. For example, in the Alston case, which didn't involve NIL at all, the court in oral arguments and the written opinion said they were very reluctant to get involved in the workings of an membership organization like the NCAA.

Here are good tweets from two sports law experts ... it's the first time I've seen somewhat talk about the limitations of Alston, something I've been writing about since it was decided. He also points out that at least once case claiming the NIL rules are a violation of anti-trust was won by the NCAA. Didn't know that ... I am going to read that opinion.

 

[Goldbug]

Most schools were already barely breaking even spending all their revenue on administrative expenses, operating costs and facilities. Many schools were are not even doing that; they're going into the hole by borrowing money to pay for all this runaway spending. Now they're going to add "the cost of labor" to their operating budgets? LMAO And how do they do that? Raise ticket prices to stratospheric heights? Milk their donors for every penny they can (in a softening national economy)? Gamble that ESPC/Whoever will always be there for them as a sugar daddy? Will. Not. Happen. This is destined to impoverish many athletic departments and college sports will be the worse for it. This all started with a few schools who couldn't win a National Championship on the field deciding it would be easier to just buy one. What a bunch of BS that was. And the sheep fell for it but even many of them are now saying WTF!!! Frankenstein lives, folks.

 

[Across The Field]

The real world is that the players will get paid directly from the schools, sooner rather than later.

NCAA pitch: Let D-I schools pay athletes via NIL

NCAA president Charlie Baker has proposed rule changes that would allow Division I schools to enter into NIL deals directly with their athletes and create a trust fund at the richest tier of athletic departments.

www.espn.com

Maybe, but the real world is definitely not involving coaches or administrators taking enormous paycuts like you suggest. That just isn't realistic.

 

[Across The Field]

Dude if you don't think we are in the wild wild west right now then you are delusional.

I don't hate NIL but if we are all honest it's not working the way it should be and basically, teams are setting up collectives and buying the best players they can but not getting any assurances or rights in the process. If you are going to pay that stud 1mm then at least let the teams put him under contract so they can restrict his transfers because they are fairly paying consideration. That is my biggest problem.

The irony is that black athletes have complained for years they are nothing more than slaves but they don't hesitate to put themselves on the auction block and sell themselves.

The one positive is there are a lot of basketball players who are taking the NIL instead of leaving school and playing overseas.

I meant the wild west in that athletic departments would have no checks and balances. You'd have rampant corruption way above and beyond what we already have.

The whole "college athletes are slaves" idea has always been the most idiotic thing, so I couldn't care less what they do, as long as they shut the fuck up and stop complaining now. You're right though, NIL has been great for improving the product not only in basketball but also football in regards to seeing kids stay in school longer.

 

[Wild Turkey]

I meant the wild west in that athletic departments would have no checks and balances. You'd have rampant corruption way above and beyond what we already have.

The whole "college athletes are slaves" idea has always been the most idiotic thing, so I couldn't care less what they do, as long as they shut the fuck up and stop complaining now. You're right though, NIL has been great for improving the product not only in basketball but also football in regards to seeing kids stay in school longer.

It’s simple in theory but hard to implement:

1. Separate the teams from the school.
2. Pay based on profit sharing with a cap that would be based on tier system.
3. NIL outside of the organizations would not be limited but no collective BS.
4. Transfer rules would be well defined with one window after the season and one allowable transfer per athlete or they sit out exceptions being if the coach leaves or they graduate.
5. Conferences form a joint commission that establishes caps and rules.
6. Break the rules player is ineligible, coach involved is banned for a year and loss of 5 scholarships.

It could be done.

 

[Across The Field]

It’s simple in theory but hard to implement:

1. Separate the teams from the school.
2. Pay based on profit sharing with a cap that would be based on tier system.
3. NIL outside of the organizations would not be limited but no collective BS.
4. Transfer rules would be well defined with one window after the season and one allowable transfer per athlete or they sit out exceptions being if the coach leaves or they graduate.
5. Conferences form a joint commission that establishes caps and rules.
6. Break the rules player is ineligible, coach involved is banned for a year and loss of 5 scholarships.

It could be done.

I feel like #1 would be a legal nightmare that would take years and years and likely millions of dollars, which may kill it dead in the water. The rest of that would also require a tremendous amount of work. End of the day, what's the point?

 

[Wild Turkey]

I feel like #1 would be a legal nightmare that would take years and years and likely millions of dollars, which may kill it dead in the water. The rest of that would also require a tremendous amount of work. End of the day, what's the point?

You could be right but as I understand it of most major programs the AD department is a separate entity anyway so I don’t think we are talking a monumental effort. More of a redefining the relationship and putting together a standard agreement between the two parties. Obviously more difficult than what I’m saying but doable.

 

[Across The Field]

You could be right but as I understand it of most major programs the AD department is a separate entity anyway so I don’t think we are talking a monumental effort. More of a redefining the relationship and putting together a standard agreement between the two parties. Obviously more difficult than what I’m saying but doable.

They're separate in certain ways but completely separating them would be a legal nightmare in regards to licensing. It'd be one of those things where the juice simply isn't worth the squeeze.

 

[Wild Turkey]

They're separate in certain ways but completely separating them would be a legal nightmare in regards to licensing. It'd be one of those things where the juice simply isn't worth the squeeze.

They would still be affiliated and the kids would still go to class. I don’t think it’s a massive change and it’s frees them from so much legal BS.

 

[Across The Field]

They would still be affiliated and the kids would still go to class. I don’t think it’s a massive change and it’s frees them from so much legal BS.

Ah, I thought you meant they would be entirely separate entities.

At the end of the day, I don't see it happening simply because it would crush the overwhelming majority of athletic departments in the country. NIL is far more than enough in terms of pay.

 

[Wild Turkey]

Ah, I thought you meant they would be entirely separate entities.

At the end of the day, I don't see it happening simply because it would crush the overwhelming majority of athletic departments in the country. NIL is far more than enough in terms of pay.

The point of what I am proposing changes NIL fundamentally. Right now there is no cap and these kids aren’t actually earning NIL they are just getting negotiated payments out of a collective.

The collective garbage would stop and any NIL would be actual like the Nebraska kid that did the deal with the HVAC company. That would still be fair game but boosters throwing money into a fund and buying players ends. If Nike wants to NIL all or Oregon players so be it but if they under contract and receiving a profit share there is no benefit and they aren’t going to do it. Now the Caleb Williams can still do Dr Pepper.

Essentially you put these guys under contract for a profit share in return they give up the free agency except for the conditions I laid earlier.

It’s the only solution I can come up with.

 

[Across The Field]

The point of what I am proposing changes NIL fundamentally. Right now there is no cap and these kids aren’t actually earning NIL they are just getting negotiated payments out of a collective.

The collective garbage would stop and any NIL would be actual like the Nebraska kid that did the deal with the HVAC company. That would still be fair game but boosters throwing money into a fund and buying players ends. If Nike wants to NIL all or Oregon players so be it but if they under contract and receiving a profit share there is no benefit and they aren’t going to do it. Now the Caleb Williams can still do Dr Pepper.

Essentially you put these guys under contract for a profit share in return they give up the free agency except for the conditions I laid earlier.

It’s the only solution I can come up with.

So basically fold the NIL collectives under the school's authority instead of them being their own separate entities? That would make sense.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

Maybe, but the real world is definitely not involving coaches or administrators taking enormous paycuts like you suggest. That just isn't realistic.

Cool, don't care. If they don't want to adjust and eliminate sports, too bad. It's about time someone other than the players get fucked.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

The point of what I am proposing changes NIL fundamentally. Right now there is no cap and these kids aren’t actually earning NIL they are just getting negotiated payments out of a collective.

The collective garbage would stop and any NIL would be actual like the Nebraska kid that did the deal with the HVAC company. That would still be fair game but boosters throwing money into a fund and buying players ends. If Nike wants to NIL all or Oregon players so be it but if they under contract and receiving a profit share there is no benefit and they aren’t going to do it. Now the Caleb Williams can still do Dr Pepper.

Essentially you put these guys under contract for a profit share in return they give up the free agency except for the conditions I laid earlier.

It’s the only solution I can come up with.

At least one person here gets where we are headed. Who thought it would be the Auburn grad ...

 

[Red_Alert]

So basically fold the NIL collectives under the school's authority instead of them being their own separate entities? That would make sense.

They already are.

That's the silent part.

 

[Red_Alert]

Anybody who thinks these 'school specific' collectives are doing everything independently, without any interaction with the school regarding players, is as gullible as they come.

 

[Across The Field]

Cool, don't care. If they don't want to adjust and eliminate sports, too bad. It's about time someone other than the players get fucked.

But this would be fucking players. The kids with scholarships for non-revenue generating sports would be royally fucked because now they wouldn't have a team or scholarship.

 

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

You sound like you are a person who, if something is hard or requires effort to effectuate, you give up and just stick with the status quo. It should be obvious to anyone who follows college sports, the status quo isn't going to survive.

Not at all. I just look at CFB as the have and the have nots. No matter what "caps" they set, the 'have' teams will find ways to circumvent it thru back door deals and they absolutely will circumvent it.

I would LOVE to see parity in CFB and for them to have a hard cap set for all teams, but the NCAA doesn't have the power to enforce it. I guess I shouldn't say they don't have the power, but proving something shady happened is next to impossible for them unless someone comes out and admits it after the fact.

 

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

LOL ... they can try to negotiate for that, but it isn't going to happen. I hope you know that and are just venting.

Seems like it would be logical to demand a % if schools are not only giving the kids a free education, and also paying these kids as players, but also providing them with the elite coaching, training, facilities, etc. only for them to leave in 3, 4 years.