I was raised very humbly, so “I told you so” is not something you hear or read from me very often.
But what’s happening right now in college sports feels like it’s working its way toward a scenario I laid out as what college sports should look like in the future.
You might remember that, in one of my “if I were king of sports” articles, I suggested that college sports should abandoned the model of “student-athlete” for men’s and women’s basketball and football and just make those athletes employees of the university.
Under my plan, I would no longer make athletes in those sports attend classes (or pretend to attend classes). They would be able to take classes if they choose but wouldn’t have to.
Then they would have to sign a minimum two-year contract for that school, and they would be required to fulfill the terms of that arrangement. They would not be allowed to demand a new contract while that deal is in place, and the school would not be allowed to pay any buyouts. No early transfers. They signed an adult deal for adult money, and they should get treated like adults would.
Each level of each sport would have its own hard salary cap, and schools who went so much as a dollar over that would be penalized with a fine for that season and a 5-percent salary cap reduction for the next school year.
The players would get paid. The portal would be used by fewer players. Fans would have a better idea of who will be on their team next season.
The truth (part #1) is, we are closer to that sort of system than ever before.
We can’t keep going like we are now.
The (truth part #2) is, no one was ready for what we are experiencing now.
Not the NCAA. Not the colleges. Not the athletes.
No one.
And, as predicted, it feels like the Wild, Wild, West.
Look, this has gotten so stupid that the transfer portal for men’s and women’s college basketball opened while their tournaments were still going on! Teams were losing in March Madness, and it felt like players were posting on social media that they were entering the transfer portal while they were still on the team plane back to campus.
Ridiculous!
The truth (part #3) is, someone must be the adult here and get control of what’s going on.
And we have seen the dark side of what is happening already.
You could not watch a game in either the men’s or women’s March Madness without seeing an ad telling fans to be more considerate and careful of what they post on social media about athletes and what our feelings about them are.
The premise of the ad is that people who bet on sports are publicly criticizing college athletes for their failure to perform, which costs the betting party money. Betters are lashing out against athletes for them not winning their bet.
Our little darlings are apparently worthy of getting paid to play their sport but are way too sensitive to handle being publicly held to the fire of the reality that comes with that paycheck.
I have ZERO tolerance for people who want something for nothing, and that is exactly what these college athletes are expecting from the brave, new college sports world we’re living in.
College athletes were not, and are not, emotionally ready to be professional athletes. The system was not intended for them to have to worry about that at this point in their lives. They are supposed to be learning about what they will do when their time as an athlete is over. They are supposed to be building and investing in their futures, not holding out for more NIL money.
Of course, the ironic part of the whole “take it easy on these kids” ad campaign is that the ads directly speak to the gambling angle of college sports.
Did no one consider the possibility that college sports embracing betting would have negative effects on athletes?
Nope. No one did. They all just went racing in for cash and to see how high they could stack it.
And the lawyers and agents lined up with rakes and big buckets to get their fill, and no one cared where it might be heading.
So, if these people—any of them—are standing around waiting for people like me to feel sorry for them, they can go pound sand. This is what they all wanted, and this is exactly what they signed up for.
They were right…they screamed “we deserve this”, and they totally do. Congratulations.
But there is a bill to pay at all of this, and no one wants to pick up the check.
They should have thought about that before they ordered the most expensive item on the menu, then bit off more than they can chew…because now they are choking on it.