Paying For Play, Playing For Pay

AN EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD high school senior, the quarterback of his football team, signs a letter of intent to play football at a major university. By the time he arrives on campus, he is already a millionaire, although his family is poor. A millionaire who has not yet participated in a college football game, nor a single practice. In theory, his cash largesse has come to him because of his willingness to allow busineses interests to take advantage of his name, his image, and his likeness in image, for purposes of advertising. However, he has not taped or recorded a single commercial for any business, has promoted not a single consumer good or service, and no small or corporate business enterprise has approached him for his NIL services, since, as yet, he has insufficient fame and name recognition to merit his services. It might eventuate that during his entire collegiate athletic career, he will never actually endorse a single brand of beer or underwear. His millionaire dollar gift has nothing to do with his name, image, or likeness, but only with the fact that if the university he chooses to attend on athletic scholarship does not fork over the cash, some other institution of higher education will, and he will be playing football for the enemy, some other university. Nearly everyone agrees that student athletes should have the opportunity to earn an income. Tens of millions of dollars are at stake. Whatever university succeeds in obtaining his athletic services will fill their one hundred thousand seat football stadium six times a year for the duration of his stay, and will rake in tens, even hundreds of millions of dollars. If this arrangement proves unsatisfactory to the athlete, he has the option of merely transferring to another school, to offer his services on the free market,selling himself to the highest bidder, like people in all other professions. But surely he should have at least an opportunity to capitalize on his own bourgeoning fame. The university doesn't have to pay him a single penny; that will be left to the businesses which choose to employ him for their advertising, or choose to contribute money to the football program without any thing in return. Only, he does no advertising, and, in point of fact, it is the university, its supporters, and the fans of its athletic program, who will foot the bill for his services. Name, image, and likeness turns out to be nothing other than a play for pay arraangement. So, why not simply declare college athletes professional, and have them receive their pay directly from the university, rather than from private boosters and wealthy benefactors? The current situation, nearly everyone agrees, is chaotic, unsustainable. Ohio State University indicates that it will now require a thirteen million dollar annual budget, money to go to football players, to field a winning football team. The same approximate situation applies to every university in America wanting to win football games and fill their stadiums. Winning is what sells tickets and raises money. Colletives ar being formed, fans are being asked to join and contribute money on a monthly basis. For the "NIL" money, all universities will and already are milking their fans and boosters. Few if any commercials are bing made featuring athletes, few endorsements are being given by college athletes. The vast amounts of money simply change hands. All too soon, the money changing hands will become grostesque, insupportable, unsustainable. The rich will become vastly more wealthy, and the poor will sink ever lower economically...Suppose every university in the country were mandated by law to use, say, seven to ten percent of its gross revenue from athletics as payments for players, to be distributed among the student athletes in whatever way the university deems appropriate. The players could all be paid equally, from the star quarterback to the bench warming third string catcher, to every back up volleyball player on campus. Or, the star quarterback might be paid half of all the money, half the entire budget, which of course might prove divisive. Soon, very soon, circumstances will necessitate regulation and organization, as do all economic arrangements, even in a capitalistic economy. The current chaotic situation simply cannot endure...