[CowboyIndian]

This simply makes booster bribery legal, given that boosters can buy things from athletes--maybe just an autographed picture for however much money is in the bribe. 

Figuring out how much cash the boosters can contribute will now become part of a decision on where to go to school.  There will be a bidding war for the best players.  At first, this may not go too far down the ladder.  But as more and more schools get in the act, ponying up cash from boosters will extend deeper and deeper into the ranks. 

I wonder if a bidding war will also become an incentive to jump ship.  An athlete become successful at a poor school, it may be worth a year off to transfer to a rich school where the boosters offer a lot more cash. 

I'm assuming that we are not really talking about legitimate market forces.  We are not talking about an athlete getting a shoe deal because the shoe company thinks the athlete's likeness is worth a lot in advertising.  No, we are talking about a rich booster buying a grossly overpriced item just to put cash in the athlete's pocket.  Heck, I could imagine one booster buying $20k autographs from everyone on the football team for a cool $1.2 million just to be sure that everyone has spending money. 

Until the rich alum at the next school does $30k, and the rich alum at the next does $40k, and at some point it is a university-managed but booster-paid professional team.

This, this, this....+1000

[CowboyIndian]

This simply makes booster bribery legal, given that boosters can buy things from athletes--maybe just an autographed picture for however much money is in the bribe. 

Figuring out how much cash the boosters can contribute will now become part of a decision on where to go to school.  There will be a bidding war for the best players.  At first, this may not go too far down the ladder.  But as more and more schools get in the act, ponying up cash from boosters will extend deeper and deeper into the ranks. 

I wonder if a bidding war will also become an incentive to jump ship.  An athlete become successful at a poor school, it may be worth a year off to transfer to a rich school where the boosters offer a lot more cash. 

I'm assuming that we are not really talking about legitimate market forces.  We are not talking about an athlete getting a shoe deal because the shoe company thinks the athlete's likeness is worth a lot in advertising.  No, we are talking about a rich booster buying a grossly overpriced item just to put cash in the athlete's pocket.  Heck, I could imagine one booster buying $20k autographs from everyone on the football team for a cool $1.2 million just to be sure that everyone has spending money. 

Until the rich alum at the next school does $30k, and the rich alum at the next does $40k, and at some point it is a university-managed but booster-paid professional team.

This, this, this....+1000