Sometimes, when civil rights are at stake, the government has to step in. I hate that it is necessary, but human beings take advantage of other human beings.
First, I do want to clarify I bear you no ill will. Just a discussion, and I think it's important to address the issues. I personally feel like a misinformation campaign has been waged (not by you) and similar to the current political climate, only one side is really allowed. For instance, if we take a divisive issue in politics, even if people are nearly evenly split, one side of the issue is often swiftly condemned and shouted down. Case in point, Tim Tebow comes out publicly against this and he's publicly attacked. So, we're lead to believe that the athletes feel a particular way, but really because only one opinion is tolerated.
Tim Tebow by the way acted in accordance with his views. He stayed in college an additional year when he could have easily left for the NFL. He clearly valued his time in college and valued what it provided. So when he states his opinion he is being genuine, he had a choice and he made it. There are very many college players who make that choice every single year by the way. These are all people who are not violated in anyway, people who can declare themselves for the NFL or stay in college, and there's a considerable amount that stay in college.
I find it ironic that going to college could be viewed as a violation of civil rights. I could only dream of being a scholarship athlete in college. Heck, when I was young I could only dream of a college education at all. If only I could have had my civil rights violated in such a manner, when I was busy struggling and working minimum wage, worrying about a place to live and how to put food in my mouth.
I say that, but let me be clear. I wish semi-pro football was more viable. I wish we could rid ourselves of the Leonard Fournettes and be left with the Tim Tebows of the world. College football doesn't need people like that anyway, some of my favorite players had no pro careers to speak of. We don't need them, but there are many, many players that need college football and one of the best kept secrets is how much has been provided on their behalf.
If you look at athletic department revenue, as I have, and poured over it year after year you start to see where the money comes from. Millions, sometimes well into the tens of millions are donated to athletic departments, sometimes specifically to college football. This might lead to better practice facilities, better equipment, state of the art amenities, but sometimes it goes just to keep the lights on. There are still shortfalls though, and and these are often met one way or the other by the government or the college (which is basically diverting government dollars). It's not uncommon to see an athletic department subsidized in this manner to the tune of 40 million dollars annually.
One reason the UAB football program thing was such a big deal, is it, like Tebow, broke the narrative. If these players are being violated and taken advantage of, how is it that their football program could be losing millions a year? I mean it's basically slave labor right, they're abused, downtrodden, and part of some giant money making machine, but... that big evil machine is actually spending more on the athletes than they take in? That doesn't fit the narrative does it? We can't have that. So we get public donations, and we get the city and the like writing even bigger checks, to basically make this go away. It does not change the basic fact that many college football programs lose money and people give them money to keep them afloat.
This gets us to breaking the amateur model and what the consequence of that would be. Once you basically say ok these guys are compensated professionals, what happens to the government dollars, to the public donations? Are people going to keep that up? Why would they, these are now compensated professionals. Why would they be entitled to government subsidies and the like? The truth of the matter is that for most college football players, what they get now is the best deal they could possibly get. We've seen the financial struggles of semi-professional football, and even then most college football players aren't at that level! Their earnings potential in a free market are very low.
What we are really discussing is breaking the entire model, risk bringing the entire thing crumbling down just to serve a few high profile athletes. Like I said before though, if only a semi-pro league was viable, I'd be more than happy to rid college football of people whose only mindset is how much money they can make, that don't value the education, that don't value the great things about college sports. Leave us with the Tebows and we'll be fine, but don't blow the whole thing up because a few people have to wait a couple years for their payday...