Nothing, that's the problem. I'd be for something like a proposal that allows limited use of likeness (jerseys for instance) and in return provided something like loss of future earnings insurance automatically, something with a very real financial value.
The way California went about this was not just to turn amateur sports into pros, but without the sort of protections that have been in place for years with professional sports. They all have some things like max contracts, salary caps, luxury taxes, etc... I was for stipends, but stipends were built off existing structure and done in a controlled manner. This by the very nature of the law is chaos.
If it succeeds, this will have bidding wars on select players. The counter to that is to say that's what they are worth, but it will be only one of many tremors going through the sport. The first thing I thought of though, when I heard about this was that recruiting a player will involve a meeting with sponsors and what each school's package will consist of. The argument would be that players get paid under the table anyway, but let me make a comparison. Holding happens on almost every play right? It doesn't get called that often, but it's still a rule they enforce sometimes. Imagine if California passed a law saying a flag for holding was illegal. What would that do to alter the game of football?
The immediate problem though is this is limitless. What happens if Jerry Jones decides he wants Arkansas to have the top recruiting class? Phil Knight at Oregon? There are billionaires out there, that if they feel so inclined can do what ever they want. This for the record can not go on in perpetuity, it would simply open up fissures that will swallows parts of the sport. Some people who choose not to play this game will take their money they have been up to that point donating to fund college athletics, and walk away.
The sport will literally contract. If for no other reason than because smaller schools will see all their top recruits, the diamonds in the rough enticed away with better endorsement offers. This will render every lesser school non-competitive in perpetuity, how can a Tulane keep anyone good when LSU will obviously have far better sponsors? Some fans will walk away, boosters will walk away, teams will vanish. Some imagine this utopia of players making more money and everything else remaining the same, but that's simply impossible.
On one hand this is about amateur and professionals, and a problem simply solved by making sure these athletes have professional alternatives. That's all this needs, be amateur if you want to be, be pro if you want to be. However, that's not what this is. This is a destructive act, there's no way around it. Yes, of course some might benefit, but when you tear something down usually what you get left with is rubble. Yes, there are ways to better things if done with caution and careful, measured actions. This is not that though, it's not merely ripping off a band-aid, it is surgery with a chainsaw.
One reason people love college sports and college football in particular is because it's not professional sports. These people are here because they want to be. I have called for people to take into consideration that these players, kickers, QBs, whoever they may be are not compensated professional and as such they are more worthy of our respect, admiration, and for instance us staying and cheering for four quarters. That's always been a consideration of mine, and I'm not the only one. The more we turn college football into something else, the less special and enticing it becomes. 100,000 people don't pack into a stadium to watch minor league football... We can have what we have now, or we can have something else. We can't make one thing be both.
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