Coming soon: NCAA v. California

Yep, but not during the season, and offseason jobs must be run through the compliance office to make sure they are paid the going rate for similar services. So no more $10,000 a week for making sure the nets in the gym are on straight. When these new laws go into place, count on them being similarly abused.

 

Not sure how this fits in with the discussion, but sure.

 

None of which makes my original statement false. As far as a cheap moral statement, don’t you find the ability to earn your market value a moral issue?

 

They can, technically, after years of athletes fighting for it. But most of them don’t have time for jobs, between school and athletics. And when their scholarship is contingent upon performance, they’re not going to spend time working on a paid job.

 

And remember, those are supposedly “voluntary” workouts.

 

Good for the player. Why does this offend people?

 

That’s an interesting question. Really.

It doesn’t matter as far as our souls are concerned.

 

It doesn't offend me, as long as the kid pays taxes on his income. I just believe the trickle-down of this will be the eventual elimination of mid-major programs, and with them the opportunities for a lot of underprivileged kids to get educations. Kids who, without football, will have no hope of winding up in college, whether they belong there or not. Who cares about them, though, as long as a power-5 star tailback can make a few extra bucks before getting his $14 million NFL signing bonus, right?

 

I guess I'm not sure why paying the players over the table instead of under it leads to the collapse of intercollegiate athletics.

 

Because the gap between the haves and have-nots will increase. If you're (insert name of low-level D1 team), you depend on the $1.3 million payday your school gets for its annual beatdown at the hands of (insert name of high-level power-5 team). I think the ability for players to earn money at the bigger programs will lead more players to go there, be it as preferred walk-ons, or 23rd members of recruiting classes, who may have previously gone to the mid-level teams. The growing talent disparity could lead to those already uncompetitive games going away, and the income streams going with them. Minus those paydays, most of those programs can't exist. This is just something I believe will happen. It won't happen overnight, but a gradual effect will be, as happens with most things, the rich getting richer and the poor having no chance.

 

Why is it going to eliminate mid major programs?

I see you answered this already.

 

Maintaining an awarded scholarship is not based on performance. All P5 conference athletes sign guaranteed four-year agreements.