As the people put in charge of NCAA football continue to burn it down. I have been thinking about how it can be saved. It will never be what it was. You always had your top level players receiving "extra benefits". The reason I have always enjoyed college sports far more than pro sports is because 90% of the college players knew they were done after college. They played for the love of the game, the love of their school and a free college education. There were always some shenanigans, but they were easy to look past because they were relatively uncommon. But now, it is gone. There are no innocent college kids playing for their school in FBS college football anymore. Just about every player moving forward is there to get paid. It may not be millions like some will receive. But make no mistake, a scholarship now includes a check.
The question is, how to fix this so that situations like Addison's can be controlled. Why should his situation be controlled? He won the top award a receiver can win. He was making reasonable NIL money which was sure to jump this season. His team is a legitimate, although unlikely, Nation Championship contender. He is not repositioning himself to have a better shot at being a high 1st round draft choice. He is simply leaving a great situation to get paid more to play in college than he got at his first school. Even though it may cost him tens of millions of NFL dollars later (in short, he is leaving a know situation for a situation where everything is a variable). This free agency is unsustainable and will ultimately drive away most college fans. To keep a fan base, there must be some consistency. This leads me to a very sad conclusion. The only way to save college football in a form close to what we recognize is to have the players unionize. If the players unionize, they will collectively bargain with the NCAA or whatever governing body comes out of this upheaval. This will allow that governing body to impose rules. More importantly, it will allow them to level consequences against those who break the rules. Since these consequences will be collectively bargained, they stand a good chance of holding up under legal challenge.
Six months ago, typing that out would have made me vomit. The notion of college athletes unionizing and collectively bargaining for cash payouts on top of the free education, medical treatment, etc... You all know all the extras they get. Even now, I am a little nauseous typing it. Fans need to have a system that they can follow and understand. At least mostly understand. Unfortunately, the NCAA with the help of the Supreme Court, took Pandora's box, shook it up really hard. Then opened the lid and turned it upside down. It is NEVER going back in. Players are getting paid. Transfers may even get easier over the years. They will not become more restrictive. The only option to give some semblance of order, is to have a unionized group of players signing a CBA with the schools' governing body. College football is a semipro league now. At least with unionize players and a CBA to add structure, it may be palatable.
The question is, how to fix this so that situations like Addison's can be controlled. Why should his situation be controlled? He won the top award a receiver can win. He was making reasonable NIL money which was sure to jump this season. His team is a legitimate, although unlikely, Nation Championship contender. He is not repositioning himself to have a better shot at being a high 1st round draft choice. He is simply leaving a great situation to get paid more to play in college than he got at his first school. Even though it may cost him tens of millions of NFL dollars later (in short, he is leaving a know situation for a situation where everything is a variable). This free agency is unsustainable and will ultimately drive away most college fans. To keep a fan base, there must be some consistency. This leads me to a very sad conclusion. The only way to save college football in a form close to what we recognize is to have the players unionize. If the players unionize, they will collectively bargain with the NCAA or whatever governing body comes out of this upheaval. This will allow that governing body to impose rules. More importantly, it will allow them to level consequences against those who break the rules. Since these consequences will be collectively bargained, they stand a good chance of holding up under legal challenge.
Six months ago, typing that out would have made me vomit. The notion of college athletes unionizing and collectively bargaining for cash payouts on top of the free education, medical treatment, etc... You all know all the extras they get. Even now, I am a little nauseous typing it. Fans need to have a system that they can follow and understand. At least mostly understand. Unfortunately, the NCAA with the help of the Supreme Court, took Pandora's box, shook it up really hard. Then opened the lid and turned it upside down. It is NEVER going back in. Players are getting paid. Transfers may even get easier over the years. They will not become more restrictive. The only option to give some semblance of order, is to have a unionized group of players signing a CBA with the schools' governing body. College football is a semipro league now. At least with unionize players and a CBA to add structure, it may be palatable.
