I have read a lot of posts and comments on this board talking as though NIL is the reason Pitt won't have much of a shot at being competitive anymore. I have some thoughts as far as this is concerned.
My first thought is that though I definitely believe NIL is a factor, and for some athletes I'm sure it's the whole factor, but I think far more it's combo of things that NIL is just a part of. Let's take Simmons for example. Sure Oklahoma probably offered more money, and based on today's Morning Pitt, Chris seems to point at that, but you're also talking about a kid turning down more money, on top of the exposure for the next level with minimal eligibility left being exponentially more at Oklahoma than at Pitt. It becomes a no-brainer at that point.
My second thought is that a lot of this is unfortunately Pitt's doing seemingly. It seems like Pitt had their head in the sand with NIL much like the NCAA did, and based on some of the reporting it seems like that may have to do with Heather Lyke, and what lead to her dismissal. I think in today's day and age everyone is made to look at things with either thing "X" bad, thing "X" good. Often times there's nuance, and I think we can all agree that a lot of what Heather did while here assisted the Pitt athletic department, but is also a big reason why they are behind the 8 ball at this point.
Thirdly, I think we need to do our best to not fault these players. As huge sports fans, I'm sure we have all seen the percentages on the players that make it to the next level, and those even smaller ones of players that actually stick at the next level. Let's not hold it against players for trying to get money when they are offered it, and given the opportunity to make it. I think if we were all in similar positions we would have a hard time turning down that opportunity to set ourselves and our families up with some amount of money. I think as a whole NIL was something that was a long time coming. Admittedly, I didn't see it coming in this way, I always felt as though players should be able to make money off of their likeness, but I didn't know if I saw it divulging into what it has today, or necessarily know if it's a good thing, and that's a deeper discussion to have. I always felt like if it divulged into a situation where players could be outright paid for their time and efforts, it would hopefully have been equal across the board regardless of sport. Often times those athletes in the less heralded sports give as much if not more of their time to their craft and Universities, and should be awarded as such. The difference in pay would come in the sponsorships, and other NIL type things for players.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk, and I hope that this creates a healthy discussion, and maybe some way we as a Pitt community can do our best. Whether that's attending more games, donating money etc. I certainly will never be someone who bashes someone for not donating, as I do not know everyone's financial situation, and grew up understanding people from different socio-economic backgrounds. That's the thing I dislike about this most, is that it makes people that don't donate because they simply can't feel as though they don't have as much of an impact on their team, as they did before.
My first thought is that though I definitely believe NIL is a factor, and for some athletes I'm sure it's the whole factor, but I think far more it's combo of things that NIL is just a part of. Let's take Simmons for example. Sure Oklahoma probably offered more money, and based on today's Morning Pitt, Chris seems to point at that, but you're also talking about a kid turning down more money, on top of the exposure for the next level with minimal eligibility left being exponentially more at Oklahoma than at Pitt. It becomes a no-brainer at that point.
My second thought is that a lot of this is unfortunately Pitt's doing seemingly. It seems like Pitt had their head in the sand with NIL much like the NCAA did, and based on some of the reporting it seems like that may have to do with Heather Lyke, and what lead to her dismissal. I think in today's day and age everyone is made to look at things with either thing "X" bad, thing "X" good. Often times there's nuance, and I think we can all agree that a lot of what Heather did while here assisted the Pitt athletic department, but is also a big reason why they are behind the 8 ball at this point.
Thirdly, I think we need to do our best to not fault these players. As huge sports fans, I'm sure we have all seen the percentages on the players that make it to the next level, and those even smaller ones of players that actually stick at the next level. Let's not hold it against players for trying to get money when they are offered it, and given the opportunity to make it. I think if we were all in similar positions we would have a hard time turning down that opportunity to set ourselves and our families up with some amount of money. I think as a whole NIL was something that was a long time coming. Admittedly, I didn't see it coming in this way, I always felt as though players should be able to make money off of their likeness, but I didn't know if I saw it divulging into what it has today, or necessarily know if it's a good thing, and that's a deeper discussion to have. I always felt like if it divulged into a situation where players could be outright paid for their time and efforts, it would hopefully have been equal across the board regardless of sport. Often times those athletes in the less heralded sports give as much if not more of their time to their craft and Universities, and should be awarded as such. The difference in pay would come in the sponsorships, and other NIL type things for players.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk, and I hope that this creates a healthy discussion, and maybe some way we as a Pitt community can do our best. Whether that's attending more games, donating money etc. I certainly will never be someone who bashes someone for not donating, as I do not know everyone's financial situation, and grew up understanding people from different socio-economic backgrounds. That's the thing I dislike about this most, is that it makes people that don't donate because they simply can't feel as though they don't have as much of an impact on their team, as they did before.
