[needle]

Easier to spend OPM than your own, but ask yourself if that were your own money assuming you had made it big and had $20 million that you could direct anywhere you wanted, would you direct it to double Stanford’s pool to pay football players or direct it somewhere else?

There's also the tax consequences.  I don't see how paying the salaries (or NIL, which is commercial money) of pro athletes should be tax deductible, for the public benefit.

Good point.  In my thought experiment, even ceteris paribus, if I have $20 million laying around that I had to give away in a way that could not benefit me or a family member, I can think of a lot better uses for the money.  Even if I had to give it to Stanford, I probably would give it to non-athletic endeavors, and even if I had to give it to the department of athletics, I think there is much more bang for the buck by giving to other sports.

BC

I think people like Cody Campbell (Texas Tech megadonor) give multi-million in support of NIL as much for their own benefit as for the benefit of the team they support. Campbell is now a West Texas legend, and, like big-time donors who pay for a building and make sure to have thier name on it, surely he believes that his gifts burnish his legacy in a way that few other things might.

I don't know any megadonors to universities, but I do sense that "legacy" includes or at least can include next-gen family members getting something out of the deal as well. (I'm thinking of Dallas Cowboys owner and University of Arkansas supporter Jerry Jones' grandson getting a roster spot on the Arkansas Razorbacks football team, though that was I think pre-NIL and so probably a bad example for this particular thought exercise.)

Just my thoughts.

[needle]

Easier to spend OPM than your own, but ask yourself if that were your own money assuming you had made it big and had $20 million that you could direct anywhere you wanted, would you direct it to double Stanford’s pool to pay football players or direct it somewhere else?

There's also the tax consequences.  I don't see how paying the salaries (or NIL, which is commercial money) of pro athletes should be tax deductible, for the public benefit.

Good point.  In my thought experiment, even ceteris paribus, if I have $20 million laying around that I had to give away in a way that could not benefit me or a family member, I can think of a lot better uses for the money.  Even if I had to give it to Stanford, I probably would give it to non-athletic endeavors, and even if I had to give it to the department of athletics, I think there is much more bang for the buck by giving to other sports.

BC

I think people like Cody Campbell (Texas Tech megadonor) give multi-million in support of NIL as much for their own benefit as for the benefit of the team they support. Campbell is now a West Texas legend, and, like big-time donors who pay for a building and make sure to have thier name on it, surely he believes that his gifts burnish his legacy in a way that few other things might.

I don't know any megadonors to universities, but I do sense that "legacy" includes or at least can include next-gen family members getting something out of the deal as well. (I'm thinking of Dallas Cowboys owner and University of Arkansas supporter Jerry Jones' grandson getting a roster spot on the Arkansas Razorbacks football team, though that was I think pre-NIL and so probably a bad example for this particular thought exercise.)

Just my thoughts.