[Genuine Realist]

I thought that was what the cop said to Margo St. James.

I thought it was a Winston Churchill line!

Or W.C. Fields.

But I'll repeat my oft-stated position. I'd like to see the NCAA retreat to the status of a prep league administration, monitoring academic integrity and direct payments to athletes. Schools should not be able to hire ringers, to use an old fashioned term..

But I can't for the life of me see why it makes any difference who buys a kid's car, whether it's loving parents, an intergenerational trust fund, a professional sports franchise, or a mess of enthusiastic fans (NIL). 

I don't think NIL potential necessarily results in an unequal playing field. While there's no way a Stanford can compete with the broad fan base of an SEC school, the benefits of a degree from a prestigious school are of considerable value.

But if you are concerned, the solution is not to try to put the genie back in the bottle. The system was unfair and inequitable in the first place. It's to go all the way and let professional franchises and agents contract with athletes. Pro money dwarfs NIL potential. An Elway, Luck, or Casey Jacobsen makes his deal on an option basis with someone interested in having his services when he's mature enough, and then goes to the school of his choice, provided he meets academic standards of eligibility. 

Why not? Money from rich granddad is somehow fine, but not from the 49ers or Lakers? It's all green.

Elegant in its simplicity. All that is necessary is to toss all those barnacle encrusted preconceptions.

[Genuine Realist]

I thought that was what the cop said to Margo St. James.

I thought it was a Winston Churchill line!

Or W.C. Fields.

But I'll repeat my oft-stated position. I'd like to see the NCAA retreat to the status of a prep league administration, monitoring academic integrity and direct payments to athletes. Schools should not be able to hire ringers, to use an old fashioned term..

But I can't for the life of me see why it makes any difference who buys a kid's car, whether it's loving parents, an intergenerational trust fund, a professional sports franchise, or a mess of enthusiastic fans (NIL). 

I don't think NIL potential necessarily results in an unequal playing field. While there's no way a Stanford can compete with the broad fan base of an SEC school, the benefits of a degree from a prestigious school are of considerable value.

But if you are concerned, the solution is not to try to put the genie back in the bottle. The system was unfair and inequitable in the first place. It's to go all the way and let professional franchises and agents contract with athletes. Pro money dwarfs NIL potential. An Elway, Luck, or Casey Jacobsen makes his deal on an option basis with someone interested in having his services when he's mature enough, and then goes to the school of his choice, provided he meets academic standards of eligibility. 

Why not? Money from rich granddad is somehow fine, but not from the 49ers or Lakers? It's all green.

Elegant in its simplicity. All that is necessary is to toss all those barnacle encrusted preconceptions.