Can’t post article due to contents of URL, but I figured it was worth posting for discussion due to subject matter. Basically Nick Saban discussed the matter with the executive and something may be on the way.
Here is the article: https://shorturl.at/cfvYe
“Saban didn’t propose ending NIL but “reforming” it, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting. He described how it was causing an uneven playing field, the people said, with an arms race among powerhouse schools.”
Saban also says that the current model is unsustainable.
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Yes, we should take the advice of a man who made over a $100M off of the back of uncompensated labor on how to keep a level playing field.
Indeed the Twilight Zone is real.
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Don’t trust Nick Saban. He’s trying to gain an edge for the SEC and Big Ten big brands.
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Haha uneven playing field. As if he didn’t have that before NIL. I think NIL is good because it at least allows lesser programs to spend money. If Rice donors really wanted to, they could turn rice football into a powerhouse. I like that schools at least have that opportunity now.
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ESPN created the uneven playing field when started blowing up conferences and picking winners and losers in the process.
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Why do people keep pushing this falsehood?
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You’re right, he made $124 million.
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An executive order getting in the middle of this would be such an overreach, and it wouldn’t solve anything.
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not sure where you took math
but “made over a $100M” and “he made $124 million” is not a falsehood. Last I checked $124 million IS over a $100 million.
Of course seriously, how does:
scholarship for tuition (can be up to $60,000 depending on school)
room and board (plenty of food in there)
academic tutors
health insurance
health care
professional training for sports career (sports trainers are expensive)
monthly stipends
fancy game rooms in lockers and other such things
free travel with room and board
plus whatever other perks I forgot to list
all equal “uncompensated”?
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It is not “compensation”.
Generally, a person is paid for services rendered and can use that money received as they see fit. Does your employer, as part of your employment, mandate that you spend your money on college tuition? Would you rather have extra pay or a fancy lunch room? Would you want your boss to cut your pay but tell you that you can live in a furnished apartment instead?
Sorry, but what you describe in your response as “compensation” is almost verbatim what slave masters used to say when people criticized slavery, by saying that the slaves were well taken care of, and were better off on plantations than in Africa because of the extra benefits of being slaves in America.
Total BS.
I know people like you cannot stand that athletes not get paid; if you don’t like it, then go watch YMCA ball.
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Saban is complaining because Alabama does not have the size and donor numbers to equal heavy hitters like Aggie, Whorn and LSU and is at a disadvantage with the NIL…Biggest reason Saban retired.
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When you resort to equating football players to slavery it just shows you really are an idiot and yes referencing slavery deserves name calling. Not one football player is forced to play the GAME, nor are they beaten, whipped or otherwise punished for not performing on the field or left to die because they are injured and cannot play in a game.
Yes all that is compensation value to the player. If not, then they should be paying their own way for a sport they voluntarily chose.
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A counter to that is that most employers include “benefits” in what they consider compensation, and the employee doesn’t have the choice to take additional money in lieu of those benefits. And those that include housing don’t just give employees that money if they choose to live somewhere else.
In addition to having all educational expenses paid, they’re provided with all meals, high-level daily individualized training, transportation, all manner of gear and a number of other benefits that go far beyond what “regular” employers offer, in addition to getting the opportunity to showcase themselves on an individual basis. Pretending like this isn’t a form of compensation is total BS.
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Ok but when I want to play a kids game in a reasonably organized league environment, I have to pay them. When I go to work and get paid, I call it work for a reason, it’s not necessarily what I would do with all my free time, nor the people I would spend time with. But I’m doing something productive that fills an actual need so positive economic benefit is generated by my activity, therefore I get compensated for my portion. Some of my compensation is non monetary in form (go ask your HR folks what that means).
College sports is not inherently productive, except that it creates a lot of attention which can be diverted onto advertisements. If the players weren’t actually doing advertising work, they didn’t create the economic value, the TV people did. For a long time we recognized that players participating in the advertising can have a corrupting effect on the game… and more importantly on the larger educational mission of the institution which is providing them the opportunity. Now we uncorked the bottle and we’re in FAFO territory. Sometimes the genie doesn’t have our best interests at heart.
Saban was 72 years old when he retired. At the time, he was the second oldest FBS coach, two months younger than Mack Brown. I have to believe Saban’s age was the biggest reason he retired when he did. Saban had a storied tenure as Alabama’s head coach, and when he decided it was time to leave, he left the team in a very good position.
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Did you play organized football at any level?
True, but those benefits are not the sole forms of compensation; you also receive a salary to use as you see fit. Also, student athletes have two separate jobs: to perform on the field and to meet the academic requirements. Otherwise they will lose all of those benefits. It is extremely difficult to do both. If the student athlete lost the scholarship, then the ability to make any future earnings (assuming that is even an option for the particular player) will basically be eliminated. Even if you were not going to be a professional athlete, you will still need to get your college degree; in fact it’s more important that you graduate if you want to go to work in the corporate world or as a teacher, doctor, lawyer, etc.
Many of the perks mentioned by EP are not to benefit the current players so much as to benefit the school; the fancy weight rooms, locker rooms, football facilities will be of use to all athletes now and into the future, which is great for the university overall as it increases applications and thus rankings. Not mad about that, but it is what it is. The school has a different set of goals it is trying to achieve from the athlete. This is common in corporate culture as well.
NIL is merely a way for the present student to benefit from his own labor. There is nothing wrong with it; in fact it is 100% American.
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I don’t like the NIL. The athletic department is a money loser. Should they share in the losses?
About Saban and the big schools… what they did before is spend big dollars, and if schools that weren’t as big started doing the same thing, they would have the NCAA Infractions Committee put them on probation. Look at what happened to SMU. If you didn’t do it, you couldn’t win.
Eff Nick Sabin. Over paying college coaches is what started us on this path.
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