San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Let kids rake in cash, go where they want
Sez Me …
Must admit, when I first met NIL and Transfer Portal via my online dating service, we were attracted only by our good looks.
Almost immediately, however, following that lie, we began talking about the inevitable — irreconcilable differences.
Granted, I am Mr. Anachronism. Fifty years ago, columnist John Sinor affectionately called me “the oldest young man he'd ever met.”
But, after the difficult process of thinking, I've changed, my given right. We're married now. The three of us. College sports bigamists.
It's NIL, not nil, as in soccer's zero.
NIL means Name, Image and Likeness. It can mean a whole lot of money for some well-heeled collegiate athletes. Not all.
Transfer Portal has nothing to do with getting on another bus. It means getting on another team. For many. Not all. And hundreds have signed up.
In the beginning, I thought this only would mean the rich would get richer. I was right. But looking at a country in which oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron, respectively, can double and quadruple first-quarter profits during a gas crisis, I say what the hell. Let the kids make what they can where they choose to make it.
American way. Capitalism. And it isn't affecting all of the athletes or schools.
Thing is, even without NIL and Transfer Portal, the big boys still were going to get more — either by cheating or reputation or TV deals — now that the NCAA effectively has been neutered.
Meanwhile, coaches who recruited these youngsters and gave many promises they'd never keep, have their contracts paid off and move on willy-nilly for millions.
Kids may not choose their parents, but they should be able to select their schools. And if they can earn good money from playing for universities, who over the years have made billions off their names and skills, so what?
This isn't the NFL, NBA or MLB, whose unconstitutional drafts are made untouchable by being collectively bargained. The SEC generated $778 million over 2020-21. The Big Ten, which has the same number of schools (14): $781.5 million.
The most successful NFL owners take home $30 million a year. It would be much higher, of course, if they didn't pay the players. Which colleges do not.
The NCAA last year earned $1.5 billion, which is distributed to its member schools, not athletes.
University presidents are appealing to Congress to help regulate NIL. The business of congresspeople is elsewhere, but if it isn't helping them get re-elected, they don't give a damn. And many big shots who slip them campaign money are the same ones paying NILS.
There are no antidotes when they're not wanted. The hypocrites, in the end, are anti-vax.
I do have concerns about high school kids, because the portal is going to cut down on the number of scholarships for some. But those who can play will play. And, with Portal athletes going to other schools immediately after entering, there's no question tampering is rampant.
But it's been going on for so many years. Only the direction has changed.
So let the kids get paid. Services rendered. …
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