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Addison leaving???

Players transfer everywhere for any reason. NIL is now another reason. When it is one of your best players we hate the system more than when the little used backup transfers. If programs like Pitt lose their best established players after a couple years, you clench your teeth and move on or you pony up what they can get elsewhere.

If I can make a half a million this year, why should I wait til next year to peddle my talents. Loyalty is rare in athletics when it comes to money, at any level.
I tend to agree. It's a dick move, but if someone offered me a million bucks?? See ya.

Can't blame these kids. That is life changing money
 
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Good for him. Excellent for the game of college football. Strike another blow against the greedy millionaire coaches and the schools making money off these poor kids’ backs. It’s only fair. Free market prevails once again.

Wait-Pitt is losing its best player to a better NIL deal? And will continue to lose its best players to greener pastures and higher paying markers ad infinitum?

This NIL and portal stuff is out of control!

Sincerely,

Joe T. Pantherfan
Ski11$8$
 
I’m just going to say , and I’m sure I speak for everyone I hope like hell this doesn’t happen… I mean Jesus H Christ ….
 
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Here’s a question: if this dystopian viewpoint becomes a reality, do schools like Pitt prioritize basketball since it’d take less money to stay competitive due to smaller roster sizes?

You look at a school like Miami...small, urban, private...in a city that really isn't sports crazy. In a lot of ways, a lot worse off than Pitt.

But Miami has found the donors to come together to go all in with this stuff. It's not even so much the university really approaching things differently, its the donors coming together to take advantage of the new system. Every single school is forming these NIL entities, but Miami has found the people to really go all in. To be honest, the university just needs to stay out of their way.

I can't predict the future. Maybe there are enough people that this wakes up and come together for Pitt. I wouldn't put money on it, but I'm not ready to write things off entirely.

For a while, since BYU did it years ago with their soccer program, I've seen the potential for a true professionalization where athletic departments become their own separate legal entity and just license the university name and images (just like UPMC does with Pitt...affiliated, but legally separate). The players then are just employees of that athletic entity, there is no need to attend school at all, NCAA doesn't apply, and title IX doesn't apply. What is going on with NIL just makes this more likely in my opinion, but who knows if it will go that far.

What happens in such a dystopian future?..ND has always stated if things get professionalized, and players become employees, it won't join the professionalizing schools. I think you may see a split between the SEC-type schools and the NDs of the world (if you can believe that their boosters won't force them otherwise) to form a more academically oriented group with schools like BC, Wake, etc.

Where will Pitt fit in? Pitt is sort of an in-betweener IMO. It would really depend on how Pitt is fairing in the new landscape and on the univeristy's leadership.

I can tell you though, the selection of Pitt's next chancellor is going to be huge for athletics in this landscape.
 
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Well, the genie is out of the bottle now. Could have been avoided but the schools all pleaded poverty years ago and said there was no way they could afford a setup a system where they pay the players. So this is what we get when the courts have to decide. The wild west

As paco posted above, and I did earlier, I really believe the Universities are itching to get out of the business of athletics and move to a "Pitt-UPMC' model, Would be good for all parties....kids that have no interest in school don't have to go; kids that want a college degree too would have that opportunity. Th only ones who wouldn't like it are the cult members who still believe in the grand experiment.
 
You look at a school like Miami...small, urban, private...in a city that really isn't sports crazy. In a lot of ways, a lot worse off than Pitt.

But Miami has found the donors to come together to go all in with this stuff. It's not even so much the university really approaching things differently, its the donors coming together to take advantage of the new system. Every single school is forming these NIL entities, but Miami has found the people to really go all in. To be honest, the university just needs to stay out of their way.

I can't predict the future. Maybe there are enough people that this wakes up and come together for Pitt. I wouldn't put money on it, but I'm not ready to write things off entirely.

For a while, since BYU did it years ago with their soccer program, I've seen the potential for a true professionalization where athletic departments become their own separate legal entity and just license the university name and images (just like UPMC does with Pitt...affiliated, but legally separate). The players then are just employees of that athletic entity, there is no need to attend school at all, NCAA doesn't apply, and title IX doesn't apply. What is going on with NIL just makes this more likely in my opinion, but who knows if it will go that far.

What happens in such a dystopian future?..ND has always stated if things get professionalized, and players become employees, it won't join the professionalizing schools. I think you may see a split between the SEC-type schools and the NDs of the world (if you can believe that their boosters won't force them otherwise) to form a more academically oriented group with schools like BC, Wake, etc.

Where will Pitt fit in? Pitt is sort of an in-betweener IMO. It would really depend on how Pitt is fairing in the new landscape and on the univeristy's leadership.

I can tell you though, the selection of Pitt's next chancellor is going to be huge for athletics in this landscape
Like Pumas and Tigres in Liga MX. Once college teams and still associated with the universities
 
We always get kicked in the teeth soon after something good happens.

Basketball team seemed to be coming together, and then the players inexplicably can’t keep from stealing each other’s women (not to mention their cars)

Pitt wins the ACC and earns NY6 bowl … day later the star QB backs out of it

Pitt backup QB marches the team in for a TD in the bowl game…breaks his arm and his backup sucks

Then the great story of last night, followed by this garbage tonight.

Most fans get more than 24 hours to enjoy their successes… Bah.
 
Honestly, I don’t have any hard feelings towards Addison. Hate the game, not the player. If it’s true that USC is offering $2M+, he has a chance to change his family’s life even before entering the NFL. I can’t get mad at someone for making a personal decision in a corrupt system.
 
I tend to agree. It's a dick move, but if someone offered me a million bucks?? See ya.

Can't blame these kids. That is life changing money
To many of these athletes, especially the high profile ones that look to athletics to vault them out of low economic backgrounds, talent and achievement is the road to financial security and lifestyle. I doubt there is a poster in this forum that wasn't born with the silver spoon that would pass up life changing money if offered for their talents. Loyalty be damned. If IBM offers a finance whiz student a nice package to leave school and work for them now, they would probably take it and we wouldn't care.

JA has earned the right to pursue whatever direction he feels is best for himself, regardless of how it affects the program or us fans. He doesn't owe anybody but himself for his life decisions.

I don't like it either. I would miss his contributions to making the team as competitive as possible, but it's his life. I refuse to crucify him for it.
 
To many of these athletes, especially the high profile ones that look to athletics to vault them out of low economic backgrounds, talent and achievement is the road to financial security and lifestyle. I doubt there is a poster in this forum that wasn't born with the silver spoon that would pass up life changing money if offered for their talents. Loyalty be damned. If IBM offers a finance whiz student a nice package to leave school and work for them now, they would probably take it and we wouldn't care.

JA has earned the right to pursue whatever direction he feels is best for himself, regardless of how it affects the program or us fans. He doesn't owe anybody but himself for his life decisions.

I don't like it either. I would miss his contributions to making the team as competitive as possible, but it's his life. I refuse to crucify him for it.

Well, you have to ask why did this come out only the day before the deadline.

Did he discuss it with Pitt to give them a chance to match? How long was USC talking to him? Did USC just ring him up today?

The timing, more than anything else, seems as if it could be particularly deceitful.
 
Nobody can blame the players for doing it. Anyone would. The schools are where to direct the vitriol. The schools were greedy and, yes, stupid. They weren’t unified enough to set up and follow sensible rules for writing standard coaches contracts, and also remuneration to the athletes (in proportion with revenue their sports bring in), funded by university boosters BUT via donations to the SCHOOL for distribution, not to allow boosters to make direct deals with the athletes themselves. It would have saved this.

Instead, it’s much like MLB, dying slowly and already dead in many places such as Pgh. The majority allowed themselves to be bought silent by the few giant programs. The golden goose is giving off death throes now as a result.
 
I think you misspelled s-h-I-t-t-y….
Maybe, but if you had a fan of Pitt worth 28-35 Billion Dollars wanting to spend his money to make the team better and on top of that the NCAA don’t have any rules on place yet, you wouldn’t be complaining either.
 
Maybe, but if you had a fan of Pitt worth 28-35 Billion Dollars wanting to spend his money to make the team better and on top of that the NCAA don’t have any rules on place yet, you wouldn’t be complaining either.
Pitt did have great boosters at one time. The school has a hate-love relationship (mostly hate) with them however. They like money being donated, but ball at any meaningful input. The boosters are just to write giant checks and sheepishly go back to their seat and appreciate whatever Pitt unilaterally decides to do (or not do). Of course, most donors say “bunk” to that, and over the years many who bankrolled the great teams of the 70s and early 80s slunk away. Now, when paying players is totally legal and when we really need big money boosters to save us, there are few to draw upon. I don’t blame them, honestly
 
This is the sport now. Either embrace it, or get left behind.
Paco made a good point in this thread about the new chancellor. If they pick someone who has a “traditional” mindset when it comes to athletics, Pitt could get left behind at perhaps the most crucial time in collegiate athletics history.
 
Not for Miami, they're buying up football, men's hoops, and even women's basketball players right and left.
So since I literally don’t care about Miami one single iota…. It’s SHITTY.

thanks for clarifying though Paco 😉
 
Paco made a good point in this thread about the new chancellor. If they pick someone who has a “traditional” mindset when it comes to athletics, Pitt could get left behind very quickly.

It seems they already have. This would be a huge embarrassment for the program and signal to the rest of the college football world that Pitt doesn't really care.
 
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Pitt did have great boosters at one time. The school has a hate-love relationship (mostly hate) with them however. They like money being donated, but ball at any meaningful input. The boosters are just to write giant checks and sheepishly go back to their seat and appreciate whatever Pitt unilaterally decides to do (or not do). Of course, most donors say “bunk” to that, and over the years many who bankrolled the great teams of the 70s and early 80s slunk away. Now, when paying players is totally legal and when we really need big money boosters to save us, there are few to draw upon. I don’t blame them, honestly
Yeah man I hear you, it will come to an end at some point before the new cycle hits next year.
 
Paco made a good point in this thread about the new chancellor. If they pick someone who has a “traditional” mindset when it comes to athletics, Pitt could get left behind at perhaps the most crucial time in collegiate athletics history.

Either getting a bunch of players poached will wake up the right well-monied people to come together, like at the U, or it won't motivate people and Pitt will absolutely be left behind.

If the next chancellor isn't on board with this stuff, the days of Pitt being in the top tier of athletics is over.
 
Either getting a bunch of players poached will wake up the right people to come together, like at the U, or it won't and Pitt will absolutely be left behind.

If the next chancellor isn't on board with this stuff, the days of Pitt being in the top tier of athletics is over.
Honestly, I feel like we’re in a no-win situation here. On one hand, there’s no way that I see any Pitt chancellor wanting to get their hands dirty and get on board with this stuff.

At the same time, maybe they just want to rid themselves of athletics all together and allows the department to be affiliated with the school in name only? However, the problem there is that they’re still nowhere close to financially matching the blue bloods.
 
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Honestly, I feel like we’re in a no-win situation here. On one hand, there’s no way that I see any Pitt chancellor wanting to get their hands dirty and get on board with this stuff.

At the same time, maybe they just want to rid themselves of athletics all together and allows the department to be affiliated with the school in name only? However, the problem there is that they’re still nowhere close to financially matching the blue bloods.

That's the thing with NIL, you just have to stay out of the way. A chancellor doesn't have to get his hands dirty, no NCAA probation negative publicity worries anymore, just has to not interfere with the third party NIL activity.
 
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Maybe, but if you had a fan of Pitt worth 28-35 Billion Dollars wanting to spend his money to make the team better and on top of that the NCAA don’t have any rules on place yet, you wouldn’t be complaining either.
We have a fan of Pitt worth over 100 billion. The 120th richest man in the world and he donates like 100K/year.

I would say if he or another Pitt booster was buying up all the players, we would all like it but we would know its wrong and bad for the game.
 
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Its better than buying new lockers, weights, and carpet.

I have said this on the basketball board. The free transfer thing has to stop. Its killing the game. The NIL is one thing but these kids going to the highest bidder and has created an uncontrolled free agency. If you want to pay the players, fine. But don't say these are still amateur players who are just profiting off their NIL. Addison to USC for 7 figures or whatever it ends up being is pay for play.
Shut up, stupid
 
He's just a dumb kid who has no sense of commitment or values
How a bout a commitment to his family first. In no way is Addison at fault, if he is being offered, pick a number..$100,000 to do what he is doing in Pittsburgh how does he not leave? Your son gets offered $500,000 to go to another school and engage in some productive endeavor, you tell him "No way!", come on.
 
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How a bout a commitment to his family first. In no way is Addison at fault, if he is being offered, pick a number..$100,000 to do what he is doing in Pittsburgh how does he not leave? Your son gets offered $500,000 to go to another school and engage in some productive endeavor, you tell him "No way!", come on.
Surely no one on here ever left a job for higher pay or a “better situation.”

However, that job better work out because, in Addison’s case, the Pitt bridge will be burned forever and his legacy here will always be bailing at the last minute.
 
Look on the “bright side” for Pitt: At least they didn’t spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a new on campus stadium before the bottom dropped out.

So, they have that going for them.
 
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I have no problem if this kid leaves for more money. It sucks but he absolutely has the right to transfer for any reason. Btw he’s an amazing player. But so was Lesean McCoy. And when he left early for the NFL the next guy came in and was even better. I believe he was acc player of the year and the team won 10 games. We have a great stable of WRs. And the true strength of the this team is the OL and DL and I don’t see them leaving en masse. We still will have a great season and I will always appreciate Jordan Addison for what he did at Pitt and look at him as a Panther. Just my two cents.
 
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Surely no one on here ever left a job for higher pay or a “better situation.”

However, that job better work out because, in Addison’s case, the Pitt bridge will be burned forever and his legacy here will always be bailing at the last minute.
Yep, he will be rich in 12 months no matter if he left or not. Pitt will not forget if he leaves for another team! Maybe USC can have another disaster announcement party like with Riley!
 
Surely no one on here ever left a job for higher pay or a “better situation.”

However, that job better work out because, in Addison’s case, the Pitt bridge will be burned forever and his legacy here will always be bailing at the last minute.

Free market concepts do not apply in sports as they do in everyday life. Even the NFL has figured that out, as they have a salary cap.

It's not like when Pappy's Department Store goes out of business, people just start shopping at Walmart. No, when you allow for such competitive disadvantages, many people will just stop following college football. It will lose market share, interest, etc.

Then you're left with a second-rate (i.e. not as good as the NFL) league. But I guess it's all about the kids, right? Including the thousands who will now never escape their impoverished circumstances to have a chance to play college football at all, since there will now be fewer scholarships to go around, due to less money rolling in, and many programs will just call it quits altogether.
 
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