Nick Saban was part of a NIL panel that spoke before members of congress on Tuesday. Saban’s sharing of a quote from his wife stating that money was “all they care about” in reference to prospective players rubbed people the wrong way. There’s no middle ground when discussing Saban and the conversation as a whole is much bigger than any single person. So, remove Saban.
There’s so much NIL talk as it pertains to players getting paid, but nobody wants to talk about how predatory some of the language in these “deals” are. Nor do we discuss the parents and handlers that handicap kids careers/education for a nominal fee. There are also kids forced into the portal by coaches and collectives, thus losing scholarships and money after not producing. When that happens, it’s always to make room for another player deemed to have or potentially have more value.
The truth of the matter is the money that people believe players are missing out on doesn’t come from NIL. In a lot of cases, it doesn’t even come from a collective. Until we have a serious avenue that leads towards players receiving a form of revenue sharing, the frustration is misguided. The private entities that have always funded pay for play efforts will be there as they have been for as far back as we all can remember - and that will never change no matter what.
The problem with the discourse is everyone that has little to no clue how this all works thinks the money isn’t finite. That faction of people also drive the conversation. Pay for play has always been a part of college football. NIL has & always will go the top high school guys, and now portal elites. That number is around 200-250 players maximum. Those kids will always be properly compensated relative to what they produce. It’s the other 95% of the roster we should be worried about. The majority of the time it’s the kids on the cusp and the kids that have underproduced that get burned. That “value” that we love to talk about evaporates in an instant. That’s why revenue sharing is far more important than any NIL deal you could think of.
Again, there’s so many hands in the pot and often times language in these contracts that ensure some sort of ROI for the investor (really lender) that the kids are the last people to truly benefit from it. With so much talk about value, it’s easy for the kids and the parents and or handlers to forget your value (as an athlete) is what you can produce on the field IN college. You’re very rarely going to receive lump sums of money, especially if it’s actually through an NIL deal. So, remember to keep the main thing the main thing. Then you’ll get the best of both of worlds.