My feelings about the portal haven't and ain't gonna change...it's destroyed college football.

Yep....

College Football is just plain pathetic now. I'll never waste another minute watching it

I just don't understand this train of thought. NIL has been in place for like 3 years. The portal has too. What has changed?

Quit acting like college football has been pure love of the game, and earning a college education to these top tier SEC caliber players. That's been a BS lie for 40 years

People said they were going to quit watching after all the BLM stuff too and that didn't happen. College football will continue to draw big ratings, especially with the playoffs coming. The only thing that's going to change is that there likely won't be any long stretches of dominance and players will make a larger percentage of the dollars they bring to the universities. I haven't watched 5 games in 2 years but will probably tune in next year for the playoffs.

I think his girlfriend and him broke up. I understood that she was the main reason he was going home.

College football is gone imo.

If we were oblivious to the NIL, yall would still watch it. The game hasn’t changed at all. Your knowledge of how things are done surrounding the game has. And if a school was making millions off the hard work of your kid, I bet most of you would feel differently.

We're just now seeing how the sausage is made

Yep

My comment is, you(the student athlete) knew what the apprentice program (ncaa football) was about when you signed on the dotted line in return for making the school some bank while you were learning the trade, your bank was a nfl contract a few years down the road and help pave the road for those who wish to follow. Nobody twisted their arms to sign.

I'll watch it if it's convenient for me, but I'm sure not going to rearrange my Saturday so I can be in front of a TV for it.

This is where I am now.

You definitely aren’t wrong about the elite athletes, but most aren’t going to the nfl. They make bank off the ones that go to the NFL as well.

NIL has also helped other sports out tremendously. Baseball especially. Now you don’t have to split 12 scholarships up and the deserving ones get their school paid for.

But yes you are right. They knew what they were getting into when they signed up. Thanks to the courts it has all changed

This idea of vilifying the colleges and coaches who make so much more than the student athletes (off of the student athlete's performance) is basically the same as the one where liberals vilify the executives of a company because they make more money "but work just as hard".

Not even remotely the same. In the past, the NCAA has kept athletes from using the fame they have gained to create a stream of income.

Executives don’t do that. An employer can’t and wouldn’t stop an employee from doing a Gillette commercial if Gillette wants to hire them. Also, the employer can go work for someone else in the same line of work (usually if there is no non compete clause) but a student athlete can’t really get away from the NCAA can they? The rules apply across the board.

And if you are referring to me, I never vilified any of the colleges or coaches. They are only allowed to follow rules set by the NCAA. And they should make as much money as they possibly can from the whole deal, and so should the athletes.

Wasn't referring to you. Don't have an issue with the concept of NIL. Would have been nice to have had that 20 years ago.

I wasn't so much talking about the NCAA / Student Athlete dynamic as I was this idea that these coaches and universities are "evil, opportunistic meanies" who make millions off of these poor, mistreated, unfortunate student athletes. I'm being a little sarcastic there, but that's like blaming someone for taking advantage of tax breaks (which, incidentally, is also a frequent criticism of the wealthy and big evil corporations). The players know what they are getting into when they signed on the line. I'm less talking about the governing body than I am the entities that operate under that governing body, and the criticism of those entities.

I've heard this more frequently since there have been discussions around modifying NIL (or other NCAA) rules, especially toward those who think the current system should be re-evaluated. Again, understand wanting to be compensated for your "brand". But these student athletes aren't the victims some are making them out to be. I think that's just plain dumb. Even without NIL they benefit tremendously from being student athletes, way, way, way more than the average student. Besides, coaches and universities have been trying to pay players for 75 years.

I guess the only part of what you're saying that I disagree with is that they can't get away from the NCAA. Yes they can. They "can't" because they don't accept any other options than playing college sports. It may be the only preferable option, but let's not pretend it's the only option. That's the choice they make if they want to play in NCAA sanctioned sporting events.