To Pay or Not to Pay: Part III

Alright, you’ve heard my side of the argument and my thoughts on the other side of the argument. 

Now, it’s time to talk about what’s being done to remedy the Pay or Not to Pay debate.

In recent months, a bill has been introduced in the California legislature called the Fair Pay to Play Act., It seeks to enable college players to be free to sign endorsement deals; hire agents; charge for appearances and autographs. It basically allows these college players to be just like NFL players without the NFL pay check. This would not change the student/university relationship at all. The students would still receive scholarships and still receive no compensation from the schools for game play. They would also still be prohibited to seek employment.

In a nutshell, the act would empower college athletes individually, or collectively, profit from the use of their name, image and likeness in commercial products. These athletes would be able to sign contracts with any number of third parties including video game publishers, clothing stores, apparel manufacturers, retailers of memorabilia and collectibles, equipment and sporting goods companies and car dealerships.

This sounds like a solution to the problem that has been plaguing college sports for years. Yet, I am not in support of this. I actually find this bill to be fraught with problems and I hope it does not pass.

One of the largest issues is – in my opinion - perfectly illustrated in a letter that was sent to the California state senate by the NCAA, warning them that if the Fair Pay to Play Act becomes law, it would be quite impossible for California schools to compete in national championships, due to the huge advantage that California schools may have over all other schools that may compete in the form of the recruiting of players to the various California universities for obvious benefits.

Would the five star freshmen quarterback out of Texas rather take his talents to the University of Texas, or other programs will he will almost certainly be successful but receive zero compensation or would he go to California and attend a school there to be just as successful with the ability to sign lucrative deals in merchandise and advertising? For the average 18-20 year old, that is a no brainer. 

Talk about an unfair advantage.

If this bill passes, the NCAA would be backed into a corner. They would either have to change their own rules regarding the compensation of players for all its member universities or consider other measures that could separate or even eliminate all California schools from its other members. This would force California schools to be independent of the NCAA or possibly even start a league of their own. As the NCAA is not known for its willingness to embrace change, odds are leaning towards the latter. Student athletes would have California lawmakers to blame for being unable to compete in national championships, which ironically, could have a very negative effect on recruiting.

What if California schools broke away from the NCAA? What if they began their own college sports league complete with TV and merchandising contracts? What if other states decided that wasn’t such a bad idea? If California schools break away and are successful with their venture, other states may consider seceding as well. At its heart, the main purpose of the NCAA is to organize athletic contests in all sports across the country, while maintaining a balance between athletics and academics. But if those functions could be provided by the state and allows compensation for their names, images and likenesses, the NCAA would have a very hard time giving those schools a reason to need them.

One of the qualities of college sports that make them so enduring to their fan bases, is the pure amateur nature of the games. The knowledge that these athletes are not competing for any sponsors, but rather for a pure love of the game. The landscape of college sports would change drastically, losing much if not all of its innocence, if athletes right out of high school are signing with agents. Not only that, but can an 18-20 year old really be trusted to make such decisions regarding representation and endorsements? I know I wouldn’t have been at that age.

Something else that comes to mind, is the word “fair” in the name of the act. Of course, the star quarterback of the UCLA Bruins would receive multiple endorsements, requests for use of his name and likeness and his autograph that he can charge for. But there is also the second, third or fourth string quarterback or the back-up kicker on special teams. Those players work just as hard as the star QB, but you can bet there would be no requests to have their likeness in a football video game or a car commercial, is that fair?

This concludes my 3 part series on the payment of college football players and I hope you have enjoyed it.

Sound off with your opinions in the comments below.

To Pay or Not to Pay: Part II

The wait is over. Here is the second part of your BQB’s To Pay or Not to Pay series.

Not to Pay Argument 1: Future Football Stars

All college football players make it to the NFL and get contracts worth several million dollars, right?

While some, like Baker Mayfield or DeShawn Watson did go into the NFL, many college players will not for many different reasons. Perhaps they never wanted to make a career out of it. Perhaps they did not get drafted are a lesser known, utility player who is just not that good for the big leagues. 

Does that mean they still shouldn’t be compensated for their time and effort? Should we only compensate the talented ones who will make it? To this BQB, this argument is akin to saying that a med student shouldn’t be able to seek employment during school and should be forced to focus purely on school, because they will likely become a wealthy doctor after college. Or a law student shouldn’t be able to have a job to get them through the grueling hours of law school, because they will be a successful lawyer once they pass the bar exam.

Not to Pay Argument 2: Football Scholarships Equal Compensation

Do several students get academic or non-athletic scholarships to attend an expensive university? Yes.

Do these students get to work at a part-time job to supplement costs? Yes

Do college football players get full ride scholarships? Yes.

Do these student players get to work at a part-time job to supplement costs? No.

In the real world, if someone was selling merchandise with my name and likeness and making boat loads of money off said merchandise, it would be well within my rights to receive compensation for that “intellectual property”.

Not to Pay Argument 3:  It’s Just a Game

As I’ve mentioned previously, a college football player’s time on the field is just a fraction of the effort that goes into being a part of a college football team. Not including the academic and social aspects of college life, college football requires an extraordinary amount of practice, training, exercise and even study.

Football is fundamentally a human chess match, with over 100 different plays and endless different outcomes. Everyone must know their jobs and their teammates’ jobs – no matter what position you play. Before a game, a team will study game films, go over plays and so many other preparations that I’m sure I am leaving out.

Not to Pay Argument 4: Free Travel

Any club or organization that is funded by a college and requires travel. Yes, those trips and expenses are paid for. But keep in mind just how much money the schools make off those away games and bowl games. 

If Oklahoma appears in the Peach Bowl at the end of the season, the revenue from that game will likely be around $10 million - some of that will be fairly distributed to the other schools in OU’s conference (the Big 12) and a portion will go back to OU - but none of it will see the inside of a player’s pocket even though they were the ones on the field. 

Think Tom Cruise doing Top Gun 2, doing all his own stunts and he sees none of the profits from the box office while the directors, producers and studios involved get all the compensation.

Does that make sense?

Not to Pay Argument 5: More Sports Than Football

It may seem that I am favoring football players over other college sports, but not because football is my favorite! There are some schools that do not put employment restrictions on student athletes that don’t play football – in which case, no they should not be compensated, because they aren’t required to focus more on their sport.

It really depends on how big the program is. At most schools that I know of, the football program is king.

If any student athlete – no matter the sport - is raking in revenue for their school or he or she is not allowed to get a regular job to supplement costs or their coach is making seven figures a year while they make nothing - then yes, every student athlete regardless of sport should absolutely be compensated for the time and effort they put in.

Not to Pay Argument 6: College Football Equals College Experience

I believe it to be an excuse made by those who like attending games, but give absolutely no thought whatsoever to what goes into making those games happen.

If you mean that it is the tradition of colleges to happily rake in the money while giving not a penny back, then I couldn’t agree more.

Alright, rant over.

Feel free to post your arguments for or against in the comments! I look forward to hearing them.

Talk to you soon

To Pay or Not to Pay: Part I

To pay or not to pay, that is the question, so what is the answer? I’m afraid there is no clear cut answer, more of a matter of opinion, but depending on where you stand on this upcoming topic of discussion, I do not believe things are going to change any time soon.

College football has been the corner stone of sports, the college experience and some might even say the American life style for generations. For more than 100 years, college football has prevailed as one of the most popular sports in the world. It earns high praise year in and year out with its many games, devoted fans and talented and extremely hardworking players and coaching staff. 

But are all things equal on both sides of the ball? Your BQB says no. And here’s why.

Time and Energy

Being a college football player requires an absolutely incredible amount of time and effort.

It is suggested that a typical college student take 12 credit hours a semester. That boils down to 4 classes. It is recommended to study 2 hours per every 1 hour you spend in class. Meaning a typical college student – not playing sports – spends up to 8 hours a week in class and studies 16 hours outside of class.

Add those 24 hours on top of football practice, preparing for games and playing those games, I would venture to say that a college football player probably trains and works out for at least 40 hours a week. And they must maintain a certain GPA to continue playing on the team.

A college football player works roughly the same amount of time as an adult with a full time job.

No Spending Money or Free Time

A normal college student living in the dorms typically has a part time job to pay for things like gas, phone bills, and of course – food.

Did you know that college football players are not allowed to work? That’s right, they are not allowed to get a part time job on the side for said costs above.

Recently, the NCAA has tried to amend this ever so slightly, by issuing a stipend to these football players with a $300 allowance. For the sake of argument let’s say this allowance is issued monthly.

$300 a month is anything but generous for their time and energy. What if he wants to take a girl out on a date? Forget it!

All Work No Profit

The amount of money that schools make from every game played is an enormous amount - not to mention the amount they make from a bowl game (which is absolutely staggering).

Baker Mayfield, former Quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners (and one of my favorite college football stars) sported the #6 jersey which is sold all over Norman, Oklahoma – and plenty of online retailers. The cheap jerseys are roughly $30.00-$40.00. 

The jersey for Deshawn Watson, quarterback of the 2016-2017 Championship Clemson Tigers team is currently priced at $119.95. 

Players like Mayfield or Watson rake in the revenue for their schools and will never see any profit for themselves. 

In addition to game revenue, colleges profit off video games that feature these players as well.

For professional players in the NFL, every Madden Football game sold cuts them a royalty check for use of their likeness and image because it goes to the team. The team pays them for playing.

In college football however, not a single NCAA football video game has been released after the year 2014 because somewhere along the line, college players started asking video game companies like EA Games to pay them royalties for their likeness from each school. 

There has been a recent development in California where a bill is being presented, where a player will be able to be paid for instances such as autograph signings, the use of their image and likeness in things like video games. This sounds like a solution to the problem, but is it possible that more problems could be caused by this bill? If California manages to pass this bill and players attending California schools can accept payments for those instances, then the NCAA will have a choice to make. They would have to either change with the times and allow all schools within the NCAA to allow their players to be paid for such activities, or they will have to kick California out of the NCAA. Think of the strong and unfair advantage that California would have over the other 49 states in recruiting if they could boast being home to the only schools where you can get pay for play - but that is another blog entirely.

These three arguments sum up what I believe to be fair and just for college football players who are making their schools money and fame.

A school, especially a big football school such as OU, Notre Dame, Alabama or Clemson could easily afford to pay their players at least the equivalent of what they would make slinging those pizzas or working at the local Walmart, we are talking minimum wage here, between $800.00 to $1000.00 a month.

I think it’s a bum deal, that  coaches like Lincoln Riley, Nick Saban, Dabo Sweeny and Jimbo Fisher make seven figures a year, while normal professors/teachers/instructors make hardly a portion of that and the players make absolutely nothing when they’re the ones scoring the touchdowns and drawing fans to the games.

One of the reasons that people prefer college football over the NFL, is the passion college players have for the game. Yes, he may get into the NFL someday, where he will make millions of dollars, but right now, it is for the love of playing football.

You may disagree with your BQB on these points but in my next blog I will address the other side of the coin and some arguments against the points I’ve made.

Stay tuned.