College football is broken. Everyone knows it. But there is a solution. And this is it.
The courts have ruled that the NIL system MUST be allowed because there is no collective bargaining or college football union. To save it, the players must form a union and collectively bargain. But how do you make them change a system that's gone way too far in their direction? Here's exactly how you do it. The college football power brokers first must give up significant money from the revenue pool. We aren't going to pay players from fans and big boosters pooling money into NIL pay-for-play collectives. It's coming from the same place all other players in other leagues get paid.....ticket sales, merchandise sales, TV revenue, etc. But here is the KEY to making this work, and what will be so hard for the power brokers to do. You have to be willing to tick off the 5-star superstar players who are the primary beneficiaries of the current system. And you need to sell the unionized structure to the average run-of-the-mill mid-point player. Let's say the "average" player at an average major conference school is theoretically getting a $75k per year NIL deal currently. That may not be the right number, and these numbers can be changed to make this work, but just assume that's accurate for now. Well that player is in a lot of luck, Because in my new system, he is about to be making $150,000 per year on top of his scholarship. But here is the catch, EVERYONE is making $150,000 per year. No exceptions. The Heisman trophy contending starting QB is making $150,000 per year. And your top 15 walk-ons are making $150,000 per year. And if you sign the collective bargaining agreement you are ceding all your NIL and other money making rights away. Anyone caught taking NIL or other monies is immediately banned from college football, similar to recruiting violations of the past. And the new system will also revert back to the prior transfer rules, where it was possible, but a little painful. You have 5 years to play 5. Red-shirting is over. But THAT is how you solve it. Attack the mid-point such that the new scheme will be so beneficial and so much more financially profitable to the average guy, that they'd be foolish not to sign the agreement. All you need is a simple majority to unionize, so attack the mid-point to get it instituted. So then, what becomes of the superstars that are going to lose millions in this deal? That's easy. They can accept it. Or they can take a hike. I don't care. And you don't care. The powers that be think we care. Somehow they've convinced themselves that college football interest is driven by top tier players, top recruits, and the "stars." But this is a lie. We don't watch college sports because these are the best players in the world. That's the NFL's business model. If you took all these exact same players, and put them in minor league pro teams, nobody cares about this. 100,000 will flock into Neyland Stadium to watch the Tennessee Volunteers. You'd be lucky to get 5,000 to show up to watch the exact same roster, the Knoxville Bandits play the Tuscaloosa Tornados. Why? Because the players and their talents do not drive the value of this equation. The value of college football is almost 100% built on the name of the university, the decades of team tradition, your own family tradition of your team, the spirit and connection one has to their college and their alma mater. People need to realize this, and when the 5-stars complain about the millions of dollars they are losing out on, the system needs to have the guts to tell them, "Sorry, we don't care. If you can find somewhere else to find a better deal than what we are offering (which they absolutely cannot by the way), then we'll be thrilled for you. But this is what we offer. Take it or leave it." This is how to save this sport that we love before it is destroyed forever. There are definitely some things that have to still be worked out, given the disparity in revenue between conferences. But this is absolutely the general structure that must come about. This is the way forward.
The courts have ruled that the NIL system MUST be allowed because there is no collective bargaining or college football union. To save it, the players must form a union and collectively bargain. But how do you make them change a system that's gone way too far in their direction? Here's exactly how you do it. The college football power brokers first must give up significant money from the revenue pool. We aren't going to pay players from fans and big boosters pooling money into NIL pay-for-play collectives. It's coming from the same place all other players in other leagues get paid.....ticket sales, merchandise sales, TV revenue, etc. But here is the KEY to making this work, and what will be so hard for the power brokers to do. You have to be willing to tick off the 5-star superstar players who are the primary beneficiaries of the current system. And you need to sell the unionized structure to the average run-of-the-mill mid-point player. Let's say the "average" player at an average major conference school is theoretically getting a $75k per year NIL deal currently. That may not be the right number, and these numbers can be changed to make this work, but just assume that's accurate for now. Well that player is in a lot of luck, Because in my new system, he is about to be making $150,000 per year on top of his scholarship. But here is the catch, EVERYONE is making $150,000 per year. No exceptions. The Heisman trophy contending starting QB is making $150,000 per year. And your top 15 walk-ons are making $150,000 per year. And if you sign the collective bargaining agreement you are ceding all your NIL and other money making rights away. Anyone caught taking NIL or other monies is immediately banned from college football, similar to recruiting violations of the past. And the new system will also revert back to the prior transfer rules, where it was possible, but a little painful. You have 5 years to play 5. Red-shirting is over. But THAT is how you solve it. Attack the mid-point such that the new scheme will be so beneficial and so much more financially profitable to the average guy, that they'd be foolish not to sign the agreement. All you need is a simple majority to unionize, so attack the mid-point to get it instituted. So then, what becomes of the superstars that are going to lose millions in this deal? That's easy. They can accept it. Or they can take a hike. I don't care. And you don't care. The powers that be think we care. Somehow they've convinced themselves that college football interest is driven by top tier players, top recruits, and the "stars." But this is a lie. We don't watch college sports because these are the best players in the world. That's the NFL's business model. If you took all these exact same players, and put them in minor league pro teams, nobody cares about this. 100,000 will flock into Neyland Stadium to watch the Tennessee Volunteers. You'd be lucky to get 5,000 to show up to watch the exact same roster, the Knoxville Bandits play the Tuscaloosa Tornados. Why? Because the players and their talents do not drive the value of this equation. The value of college football is almost 100% built on the name of the university, the decades of team tradition, your own family tradition of your team, the spirit and connection one has to their college and their alma mater. People need to realize this, and when the 5-stars complain about the millions of dollars they are losing out on, the system needs to have the guts to tell them, "Sorry, we don't care. If you can find somewhere else to find a better deal than what we are offering (which they absolutely cannot by the way), then we'll be thrilled for you. But this is what we offer. Take it or leave it." This is how to save this sport that we love before it is destroyed forever. There are definitely some things that have to still be worked out, given the disparity in revenue between conferences. But this is absolutely the general structure that must come about. This is the way forward.
