[ThePassionOfTheChryst]

[quote author=ThePassionOfTheChryst link=topic=14318.msg152330#msg152330 date=1452565875]
[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=14318.msg152329#msg152329 date=1452565593]
[quote author=ThePassionOfTheChryst link=topic=14318.msg152325#msg152325 date=1452564291]
Now, there's one thing we have to consider.  Athletes are the only college students who are forbidden from earning money for their skills.  If I'm a talented programmer I can leave school to go work at Google.  If I'm a musician, or an actor, or possess some other remarkable skill, there's nothing stopping me from pursuing a career in that at 18 or 19.  But if I'm a football player, I'm stuck.  I can't go to the NFL, even if there's a market for me.  I can't earn money from my skills.

Isn't that the NFL's problem?  I mean, in baseball, the NCAA coexists with MLB and promising baseball players have a choice of entering the draft out of high school, after their junior year, or after graduating.  Although I really don't like the "one and done" culture that it creates, in basketball, players can sign with the NBA after one year.  It's only the NFL that refuses to let anyone be drafted out of high school, most likely because why spend money developing a viable minor league when you have college football, which not only develops talent (both physical and skills development), but also gets it much more hype and publicity than would a minor league system.

But that's not really the NCAA's doing.  If there weren't draft restrictions from the NFL, it's not like the NCAA places restrictions on when people can be drafted.

BC
[/quote]

You're right about that, I was unfairly placing the blame for that on the NCAA.

I still don't believe they should be barred from being paid.  Should they be paid directly by their universities?  I don't know.  But there's no reason why Popular Player X should be barred from selling autographs, for example.
[/quote]

Genuine question I don't know the answer to. Do talented programmers/musicians/actors receive full rides for their talents? (Or is it more like a combination of loans and campus jobs?) If they do, and can work in addition, that's one thing. If not, then I think the comparisons need to be made between walk-ons and said programmers/musicians/actors for apples to apples, which I agree is still not fair.
[/quote]

I don't know the extent to which other gifted students are helped financially, but I'd have a hard time believing athletes are the only recipients of scholarships.  Heck, there's one particularly prestigious university on the Peninsula that doesn't charge you anything if you (or your family) make below a certain threshold, iirc.

Again, I'm not necessarily advocating for athletes to receive compensation directly from their universities, but I can't think of a single justification for them not to be able to sell autographs or jerseys, be paid for appearances, etc.

[ThePassionOfTheChryst]

[quote author=ThePassionOfTheChryst link=topic=14318.msg152330#msg152330 date=1452565875]
[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=14318.msg152329#msg152329 date=1452565593]
[quote author=ThePassionOfTheChryst link=topic=14318.msg152325#msg152325 date=1452564291]
Now, there's one thing we have to consider.  Athletes are the only college students who are forbidden from earning money for their skills.  If I'm a talented programmer I can leave school to go work at Google.  If I'm a musician, or an actor, or possess some other remarkable skill, there's nothing stopping me from pursuing a career in that at 18 or 19.  But if I'm a football player, I'm stuck.  I can't go to the NFL, even if there's a market for me.  I can't earn money from my skills.

Isn't that the NFL's problem?  I mean, in baseball, the NCAA coexists with MLB and promising baseball players have a choice of entering the draft out of high school, after their junior year, or after graduating.  Although I really don't like the "one and done" culture that it creates, in basketball, players can sign with the NBA after one year.  It's only the NFL that refuses to let anyone be drafted out of high school, most likely because why spend money developing a viable minor league when you have college football, which not only develops talent (both physical and skills development), but also gets it much more hype and publicity than would a minor league system.

But that's not really the NCAA's doing.  If there weren't draft restrictions from the NFL, it's not like the NCAA places restrictions on when people can be drafted.

BC
[/quote]

You're right about that, I was unfairly placing the blame for that on the NCAA.

I still don't believe they should be barred from being paid.  Should they be paid directly by their universities?  I don't know.  But there's no reason why Popular Player X should be barred from selling autographs, for example.
[/quote]

Genuine question I don't know the answer to. Do talented programmers/musicians/actors receive full rides for their talents? (Or is it more like a combination of loans and campus jobs?) If they do, and can work in addition, that's one thing. If not, then I think the comparisons need to be made between walk-ons and said programmers/musicians/actors for apples to apples, which I agree is still not fair.
[/quote]

I don't know the extent to which other gifted students are helped financially, but I'd have a hard time believing athletes are the only recipients of scholarships.  Heck, there's one particularly prestigious university on the Peninsula that doesn't charge you anything if you (or your family) make below a certain threshold, iirc.

Again, I'm not necessarily advocating for athletes to receive compensation directly from their universities, but I can't think of a single justification for them not to be able to sell autographs or jerseys, be paid for appearances, etc.