Forever Saturday

Episode 18: We Need to Talk About NIL

Episode Summary

Serena and Matt try to understand why the recent NIL (or "NIL") happenings feel different and kind of uncomfortable in some ways, debate whether there are viable adjustments that can be made within the current structure, and discuss where things might be headed as the current trajectory of college sports collides with Title IX and other issues.

Episode Notes

Serena and Matt try to understand why the recent NIL (or "NIL") happenings feel different and kind of uncomfortable in some ways, debate whether there are viable adjustments that can be made within the current structure, and discuss where things might be headed as the current trajectory of college sports collides with Title IX and other issues.

• Jordan Addison transferring from Pitt was triggering for all of us.
• About a third of college basketball players and a fifth of college football players entered the transfer portal this year.
• We've also seen 7 all-first-team Power 5 or All-American players enter the portal in the last year.
• Anyone who says "this has always happened" is wrong -- maybe at the recruiting stage, but this level of poaching from active rosters is new. 
• As always, Twitter is not the best place for nuanced conversations. 
• A lot of the conversation is very "if you don't like the changes to the sport, then leave" and both Matt and Serena think this approach is very shortsighted. 
  • It is no way to run a sport to act like that sport is inevitably going to maintain its popularity. 
  • It seems possible to us (though unlikely) that missteps at this stage could be bad for the overall popularity of the sport in a way that's worse for everyone because it can shrink the size of the pie. If you alienate fans, the money could dry up in a way that the players (and the fans) end up worse off overall. 
• Can you shut the transfer door? 
  • There isn't a sport in America that doesn't have rules or restrictions about how and when you can move teams. Would it be the worst thing if you went back to requiring players to sit out? 
  • In professional settings those restrains are bargained for, which makes them more fair than the NCAA dictating these changes from on high.
  • Is it even conscionable to change these rules now? 
• Can you curb NIL? 
  • Matt and Serena both think the horse has left that barn on this one and that NCAA efforts to turn the NIL faucet off are futile. 
• Collective bargaining seems to be the only way forward (they might try to resolve it by individual contract, but unclear if that will work) 
  • But even a CBA has problems -- each sport probably has to bargain separately.
  • For sports like hockey, are there even enough profitable teams that schools like Michigan will have opponents? Will compensated players be playing against de facto club teams?
• Does whether the players continue to be students impact the product? 
  • For Serena, the players continuing to be tied to the university and the community at large is part of the appeal. 
  • Can you get the schools to agree to require that as part of a CBA? 
  • Does Title IX even allow this type of arrangement? There are more questions than answers.
• Gene Smith's proposal for the CFP to act as the governing body of college football -- this is an alternative potential structure that could work but also needs a lot of fleshing out and alignment.