06-28-2021, 10:36 PM
What's being created is a star system without any sort of bargaining ability for the bottom half to one-third of a football roster.
We will probably see some minor scandals erupt when certain mega donors think they've bought a player outright, but I suspect the truly ugly stuff will involve the guys whose best "NIL" offers come from shadowy characters who care nothing about a school. Paying these guys x amount for an "autograph" will really be an avenue to gather inside program info that can then be used for betting or even blackmail purposes.
The schools are very much taking a hands off approach that protects the institutions from liability, so imo the only way to avert disaster is to create a nonprofit sort of "BBB" to help players differentiate between legit market offers and probable scams/illicit activity.
The college presidents (aka NCAA) should do everything possible to help this type of nonprofit come into existence, with a feature being a voluntary registry so that those truly in the autograph, marketing and live events businesses could put all their cards on the table (business stuff like registered agent, headquarters location, major funders, etc.) in the name of transparency.
The players who are smart enough to really want to avoid shadiness should have such an option to turn to; alas, I fear they will pretty much have to fend for themselves when crooks and delusional fans make them offers that are too good to be true.
We will probably see some minor scandals erupt when certain mega donors think they've bought a player outright, but I suspect the truly ugly stuff will involve the guys whose best "NIL" offers come from shadowy characters who care nothing about a school. Paying these guys x amount for an "autograph" will really be an avenue to gather inside program info that can then be used for betting or even blackmail purposes.
The schools are very much taking a hands off approach that protects the institutions from liability, so imo the only way to avert disaster is to create a nonprofit sort of "BBB" to help players differentiate between legit market offers and probable scams/illicit activity.
The college presidents (aka NCAA) should do everything possible to help this type of nonprofit come into existence, with a feature being a voluntary registry so that those truly in the autograph, marketing and live events businesses could put all their cards on the table (business stuff like registered agent, headquarters location, major funders, etc.) in the name of transparency.
The players who are smart enough to really want to avoid shadiness should have such an option to turn to; alas, I fear they will pretty much have to fend for themselves when crooks and delusional fans make them offers that are too good to be true.