NIL - "Let's be honest, we are all money laundering."

[AtlAtty]

Hmm, I agree with you to a certain extent, but I think it’s unfair to lump every situation into the same category. I think the biggest mistake young people make is that, due to lack of guidance or understanding, they just get meaningless degrees. If you’re going to spend years of your life and be in debt up to your eyeballs for a degree in "Business Administration" well, then, you’re a fool. I also feel there’s this false narrative that you have to go to college to make a meaningful salary. I went to school to become an X-Ray Tech, hated it, ended up becoming a mailman and now I’m making way more money than I ever would have with that job. My daughter is in school right now to become a dental hygienist and I’m behind it because I still believe that a degree such as that does hold some value. Like I said though, every situation is different.

I agree with you 100%. I was certainly generalizing for the sake of the argument but we are making similar arguments that certain degrees have more financial value than others, your daughter being a great example because every medical field needs more people. Your daughter’s only problem will be deciding which dental practice to work for. But she is in the extreme minority of people whose undergrad degree will actually result in employment.

When I graduated with a Poli Sci degree I knew no one would hire me for anything other than sales, and I didn’t even need a degree for that. I had to attend grad school which meant that I had to take another standardized test, which meant that my undergrad degree had very little financial value. A state school made a lot more sense for me for undergrad than paying (back then) 25k per year. Now that number is 70k and rising.

 

[passitback]

You ever heard the term, "You have to learn to crawl before you can walk?”, well I feel like everything being done in college football the last couple of years is the antithesis to this. Everywhere you look from coaching staffs, to radio shows, to Universities, it seems like everyone has questions but nobody has the answers. I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but one of the things I always loved about college football is it was one of the purest forms of sport we had left, uncorrupted by money. It was about school pride, tradition, rivalries, passion, etc. While I agree that some sort of collective bargaining will eventually have to take place and these NIL deals need to be addressed or they will spiral out of control, this will eventually lead to a union. Can you imagine a scenario where college football players go on strike? I can. We’ve already seen bowl games become unwatchable due to players opting out. What happens when NIL deals get so big that 1st round draft picks decide to skip the NFL and come back another year because they would make more? Does the NFL then get frustrated and step in? Say what you will, but this great sport I once loved has been tainted because they jumped too far, too soon.

The sport has been on the decline for over a decade. Absolutely nobody wants to the same four or five teams win it all every single season.

It makes the sport unwatchable.

Excluding die hard fans, how long do they think people - ESPECIALLY CASUAL FANS- will tune in to watch this trash?

 

[Kn[]_[]ckles3o5]

I agree with your last statement, but disagree with how a player should be paid.
This NIL system exists because coaches and schools made millions and refused to share with the laborers behind a facade of amateurism, which in the US meant we (schools and coaches) can make all the money we want off your labor, but you can’t.
I know you aren’t blaming the players but if there is blame to be doled out it’s pretty obvious where the blame lies.

Going back to our disagreement, I do not believe anyone can dictate how another person should be paid. So whereas your paternalistic approach is probably in everyone’s best interest, it ignores that people should be paid for their labor and no one other than the person performing the labor should decide the form of payment. So in effect, let the players be as greedy as they want to be right now because the pendulum has swung very far in the other direction as it always does.

Going back to our agreement, i hope the IRS does look at this entire system very closely and makes sure it can trace from where the collectives receive their money, and collects taxes from the players. No one should be exempt from normal taxation rules because this is college sports and not a pizza restaurant.

Doctors in their residency get paid peanuts, as do interns in high level occupations, while the corporations by which they are employed bank on their hard labor.

I compare collegiate athletics to pre professional training. If it is "fair" to expect interns and residents to kill themselves for minimal pay while benefiting million/billion-dollar corporations, it isn't unfair to expect athletes with far greater earning potential to pay their dues in college.

The players aren't entitled to be millionaires just because the colleges and coaches are making that money. Should they be paid? Yea. Does it have to be equivalent to the revenue generated by their contribution to the "product"? Not necessarily IMO.

 

[SCarolina Ibis]

If NIL is money laundering, the old system of paying players under the table was tax evasion.

 

[TheOriginalCane]

If NIL is money laundering, the old system of paying players under the table was tax evasion.

 

[UMFarArcher]

Money Laundering?

or SEC'ing?

 

[TheOriginalCane]

Money Laundering?

or SEC'ing?

 

[Home Slice]

Saban being a tool.

Alabama football: Nick Saban calls out lack of parity in NIL, names specific schools

Nick Saban questions the lack of parity in college football, particularly when it comes to NIL. Leave it up to Alabama head coach Nick Saban to question th...

fansided.com

 

[Home Slice]

So True. In my senior year in high school, they had removed all, if not most trade programs from school. Funny thing, I know many plumbers, electricians, and HVAC guys that make clear over 100k. It is not a glamorous job, but it's a **** good living. Those guys are the backbone of America. I can do many of my house fixes myself, but god knows I'm not messing with that electricity.

Soon as I have an electrical problem, I am on the phone, " Mr.Electrician, when is the earliest you make it out? Sounds good! See you soon."

So true. High schools going away from Trade School type programs is awful. Fortunately some School districts are reintroducing them. Career Academies, etc. For some students, it's the difference between staying in school or dropping out. I also used to preach the military to students, but they have recently taken away a lot of excellent benefits in the military. The GI bill is nice.

 

[Dan E. Dangerously]

Money Laundering?

or SEC'ing?

 

[AtlAtty]

I‘m not sure the author of the original quote knows how money laundering is legally defined. The only way NIL is money laundering is if the contributors are taking illegally earned money and “washing” it thru NIL. If the contributed money was earned legally then its not money laundering. And the contributor is paying taxes on the money once earned regardless of what they do with it.

This is how money laundering typically works:
Person A earns $_____ illegally. Person A then either opens or invests that money into a legit business. The legit business then shows that money as earned through its ordinary business, and taxes are paid. Person A’s money has now been laundered or washed, and looks legit on the back end.
Maybe I am being obtuse (Shawshank reference) but how is donating money to an NIL collective, or a business paying an athlete, money laundering?

 

[GojiraCane]

Could, but can't. A certain faction of Congress voted down and increase in the IRS budget for more agents to recover unpaid taxes and investigate suspicious returns. The increase in the budget would have recovered billions in unpaid taxes. There simply isn't enough manpower. So, certainly, there's no money or manpower to investigate NIL shenanigans.

Some school or foundation will likely get focused on in the future.

 

[GojiraCane]

The sport has been on the decline for over a decade. Absolutely nobody wants to the same four or five teams win it all every single season.

It makes the sport unwatchable.

Excluding die hard fans, how long do they think people - ESPECIALLY CASUAL FANS- will tune in to watch this trash?

“Well folks, welcome to the 2038 National Championship Game. Tonight, for the eighth straight year the Crimson Tide of Alabama faces the Georgia Bulldogs to determine who will win the national title. It was an arduous process for both teams, as they had to get through Clemson and LSU. And while that was the sixth straight national championship semifinals for both losing teams, they tonight the nation awaits the matchup of the winners.”

Meanwhile headlines from the coming 15 years:

University of California To Shutter Football Program, Citing Safety Concerns

Protests Mount At University of Michigan Over Palatial Athlete Facilities

Students At Colorado Protest Tuition Increase After Buffaloes Announce Signing of QB Romani McSanders to $25M deal

AAC Players Union Announces Strike; Demands Include Revenue Sharing From Playoffs

 

[the storm]

Hilarious that it's the SEC having problems with paying players.

They have been the worst for fifty plus years - when it comes to paying players.

Now that they have some competition - they're all butthurt, because "this is getting out of hand."

Well SEC - YOU started it!

Definitely laughable with Control Freak Saban & Control Freak Stinky heading to Washington (even talking about unionizing players)...LOL. The federal gov messes up all that they touch...be careful what you wish for. What’s the matter you SEC boys; some of the NIL’s starting to get ahead of you?

 

[HurricaneU]

My two cents:

Nothing a vibrant market with pricing can't solve. Unfortunately, we have actors (colleges and NCAA) on the production side of the market seeking to continue capturing rents under an organizational entity and legal framework that is no longer suited for transparent market-based pricing.

I maintain my belief (though I reserve the right to change it) that the NFL and business partners need to develop a club type system to develop, promote, and grow this emergent market.

Schools and colleges can still focus on those who truly wish to either a) go to school as an amateur athlete and b) or simply are not good enough yet to make a professional roster.

 

[SWFLHurricane]

College Football has been corrupted by money for at least 20-30 years now. It just went under the table and not into the "public" eye, although a lot of people knew.

The only thing that changed is that money that went under the table is now open for everyone.

It was corrupted long before 30yrs ago. Bear Bryant would tell his assistants, "Never pay more $$$ than the kid's worth"....