NCAA Portal Talk

[CrimSonami]

Thought I had clicked the "NIL" thread instead of the "Portal" thread" there for a bit.

 

[AlexanderFan]

I definitely understand the worry. I'm just trying to figure out how much worry is warranted. For every major change there are always at least 2 sides. One that doesn't worry at all and one that thinks the sky is falling.

I guess I'm just trying to figure out where on that scale I fall. I'm sure it will be somewhere in the middle but I'm not positive to which side I'll be more heavily tilted. I do think players being able to make money was necessary though. Especially with the injury and specifically concussion issue.

There are just so many uncertainties right now which is making it hard, for me at least, to have a strong stance on some of this.

One example is will the amount of money currently being used for NIL hold strong or will things like the transfer portal give people more pause moving forward.

I believe Ewers kept all his NIL deals because NIL deals can't actually be tied to schools, and if that's the case are boosters going to continue to shell out the same amount of cash for a recruit if its possible that you've invested in a lot of money for a player who never plays for your school.

I do wonder if the better way would be to simply pay players directly from the school though I understand there are a lot of issues with that as well

Rumored price for A&M’s class this year was 25-30 million. Not sure if those were four year NIL deals or not.

 

[gtgilbert]

I am happy to see Moody come back because it felt like he was one of those guys that stuck it out and would get to play his senior year until HTT came. I think he starts next to HTT but what does that do for guys like Lawson, Kennedy, etc.? Do they decide they don't want to wait another year and enter the portal? Also, with this news, it officially means 2023 will have 2 new ILB. We have seen that happen before and it does not work well. If Moody and HTT do start, I sure hope that Saban gets backups some actual playing time so they can develop for 2023.

Completely agree. I love the underdog story that would be moody earning the starting job, but dred what 2023 will look like if we have a MIKE that didn't see a year of on-field time as the WILL before having to make the calls. As you said, it's never worked well.

 

[bamaga]

Rumored price for A&M’s class this year was 25-30 million. Not sure if those were four year NIL deals or not.

I heard on sports talk radio the Aggies have already paid $50-55mm to members already on the team. Add all that together with Jimbo and his staffs salary and they are approaching the NFL salary cap

 

[TiderJack]

Rumored price for A&M’s class this year was 25-30 million. Not sure if those were four year NIL deals or not.

It is amazing the amount of money being throw around. A&M and Texas will be the new powers of football based on the current NIL situation. Something has to be done to keep it under control.

 

[81usaf92]

Lots of fear from Texas I see… I half expected to someone to continue to lump the myth of Oregon and Miami in there is well.

You still need coaches and evaluators to make it work. Without them, Texas money is no better than board game money.

 

[bamaga]

I read this on Georgia SI site. It appeared in my Newsflash for some reason, I guess because I live in Georgia. I can’t believe the stupidity. Bama copying Georgia’s formula for The portal. I guess the author forgot about All American Jameson Williams and All SEC Henry To’oTo’o

.
Georgia didn't use the portal to add players for the sake of adding players and providing depth; no, Georgia added players who would plug holes and make an impact. The jury is still out on how Gilbert and Smith will perform in 2022, but Kendrick showed why Georgia took a chance on him.

Now it looks like Alabama is trying to replicate the formula Georgia used to help win a national championship over the Crimson Tide this past January, and arguably at a much higher talent rate. Alabama has already added three impact players: former Georgia receiver Jermaine Burton, Georgia Tech running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and LSU defensive back Elias Ricks.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I read this on Georgia SI site. It appeared in my Newsflash for some reason, I guess because I live in Georgia. I can’t believe the stupidity. Bama copying Georgia’s formula for The portal. I guess the author forgot about All American Jameson Williams and All SEC Henry To’oTo’o

LOL at UA copying UGA...

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

I read this on Georgia SI site. It appeared in my Newsflash for some reason, I guess because I live in Georgia. I can’t believe the stupidity. Bama copying Georgia’s formula for The portal. I guess the author forgot about All American Jameson Williams and All SEC Henry To’oTo’o

Not shocked at something like that coming from UGA..................If they were honest, they would say it was the other way around. I dont remember Saban taking pics of anyone's recruiting board, nor do I remember Bama only winning an NC after 41 years............UGA has copied Bama......Next thing you know, they will claim Kirby taught Saban everything he knows..............what a joke

 

[crimsonaudio]

I heard on sports talk radio the Aggies have already paid $50-55mm to members already on the team.

I'd bet my house that every one of these purported numbers is massively inflated.

 

[gtgilbert]

I definitely understand the worry. I'm just trying to figure out how much worry is warranted. For every major change there are always at least 2 sides. One that doesn't worry at all and one that thinks the sky is falling.

I guess I'm just trying to figure out where on that scale I fall. I'm sure it will be somewhere in the middle but I'm not positive to which side I'll be more heavily tilted. I do think players being able to make money was necessary though. Especially with the injury and specifically concussion issue.

There are just so many uncertainties right now which is making it hard, for me at least, to have a strong stance on some of this.

One example is will the amount of money currently being used for NIL hold strong or will things like the transfer portal give people more pause moving forward.

I believe Ewers kept all his NIL deals because NIL deals can't actually be tied to schools, and if that's the case are boosters going to continue to shell out the same amount of cash for a recruit if its possible that you've invested in a lot of money for a player who never plays for your school.

I do wonder if the better way would be to simply pay players directly from the school though I understand there are a lot of issues with that as well

You're right that they can't be tied to the school, but they can be written as one year, or even one season contracts which are renewable at the discretion of the paying party. That's what boosters will use to make sure they are not having to pay a kid who decides to transfer.

 

[bamamc1]

The sad thing is selling a few textbooks to get a little $ probation. Selling some jerseys for tattoos gets a coach fired. Signing a napkin in NO gets you on probation. There’s no amateur status at all. Unbelievable. It’s the world we live in.

 

[JDCrimson]

I would take that bet...

I'd bet my house that every one of these purported numbers is massively inflated.

 

[NationalTitles18]

I read this on Georgia SI site. It appeared in my Newsflash for some reason, I guess because I live in Georgia. I can’t believe the stupidity. Bama copying Georgia’s formula for The portal. I guess the author forgot about All American Jameson Williams and All SEC Henry To’oTo’o

About like we copied Miami on the turnover belt/chain.

I haven't noticed anyone copying Fifteenessee's garbage can yet.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

About like we copied Miami on the turnover belt/chain.

I haven't noticed anyone copying Fifteenessee's garbage can yet.

Nobody wants to take credit for that

 

[B1GTide]

Your right that they can't be tied to the school, but they can be written as one year, or even one season contracts which are renewable at the discretion of the paying party. That's what boosters will use to make sure they are not having to pay a kid who decides to transfer.

I believe that this is what these deals will look like eventually - even most of those for national brands who really might not care about the school choice. We had Ewers and DJ (at Clemson) this year who both got paid. One never started for the school in the community of the car dealership paying him, and the other is an abject failure as a D1 starting QB. Two very different reasons to limit the length of the deals.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

The sad thing is selling a few textbooks to get a little $ probation. Selling some jerseys for tattoos gets a coach fired. Signing a napkin in NO gets you on probation. There’s no amateur status at all. Unbelievable. It’s the world we live in.

It can't ever be returned to the box...

 

[CrimsonTheory]

I read this on Georgia SI site. It appeared in my Newsflash for some reason, I guess because I live in Georgia. I can’t believe the stupidity. Bama copying Georgia’s formula for The portal. I guess the author forgot about All American Jameson Williams and All SEC Henry To’oTo’o

I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Bama copying GA? Right.

 

[CrimSonami]

I read this on Georgia SI site. It appeared in my Newsflash for some reason, I guess because I live in Georgia. I can’t believe the stupidity. Bama copying Georgia’s formula for The portal. I guess the author forgot about All American Jameson Williams and All SEC Henry To’oTo’o

What a Doofus! And the really sad part is they truly believe it.

 

[KrAzY3]

Also, if there is a shortfall how large will it be? Again genuine question.

This is me genuinely trying to gather information not turning my nose at booster money to schools.

It is impossible to tell at this point, in part because how people view college athletics and how much they are willing to donate at all could be affected. Up until now the donations were seen as helping amateur athletes. You don't see boosters for professional sports, not simply because it would violate their various cap rules and such but because it just doesn't make sense to donate money to compensated professionals. So, we really have no idea where this will go in terms of the billions college athletics are given annually.

Ah, so you're just saying that the value of the player is tied to schools. For sure that's true to an extent

That's partially true, it's one reason that semi-pro football always fails. The actual worth of most of these athletes on the open market really isn't that high, it's the loyalty to the school the funds this machine. Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel were worth a tremendous amount while in college, more then they've proven to be worth as professional athletes. That is due to the loyalty and enthusiasm for college sports.

However, that's not the only thing I'm getting at here in terms of the NIL system. If the school for instance was paying a player, they could look at their bottom line and figure out pay commensurate with what the player is contributing. They could look at the revenue, say ok we're selling this many tickets, we have this much in TV revenue, and we think this player is worth X amount of that.

Due to the way NIL works and is being predictably abused, what people are being paid has nothing to do with any of that. The 25K interviews were as good an example as I could think of. I am fairly certain 25,000 people didn't even read those interviews, the money had nothing to do with actual worth of anything, just how much someone wanted to pay to make them happy. That's the issue here, it's based on the corrupt system of enticing players and corrupt behavior from boosters.

Before there was an effective salary cap because you couldn't pay a player more than you could hide, so it was kept fairly reasonable. Now though? There is no cap, there is no limit, it's kind of like if you could openly bribe politicians (it is obviously less ethically dubious but it's still paying players to do what you want them to do). I would add that the notion that these NIL deals are not coming with strings attached is as absurd as the notion that these NIL deals really were going to be NIL deals. Of course there are strings attached, it's just a matter of being clever enough to attach the strings correctly.

At this point it's not even about what should or shouldn't happen. It's just about understanding what is happening.