I love the list of things you made because they're all relevant and significant factors of compensation/reward.fufanatic wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:39 amI think this is right, but I will say I've battled back and forth over this for years now, and still struggle today with it. In addition to free scholarships (which is a huge deal and vastly underrated ... education can change lives and family fortunes), I know what all the major programs can provide (which would cost a lot for you and me to have) including: a free strength and conditioning coach and facility, a free nutritionist, free gear, free unlimited food, free travel, free tutors if needed, free housing, a monthly stipend, star status that could lead to a job interview or opportunities following graduation, etc. The list is long, very impressive, and hard to put an exact money total on. But is it enough? Especially at the monster revenue generating schools. I don't know the answer for sure. I will say I don't think competitive balance will shift much at all if players do start getting paid on top of all that I mentioned above. In college football, it's been Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State for several years now, and this year is shaping up no differently. And I doubt it opens the door to much more corruption, if any, which I'm confident is more prevalent than we know about.
But like many of you, it scares me to think what college sports will look like in the future. Will Group of 5/FCS college football be able to survive? What about non-revenue generating sports? They might have a hard time surviving without major individual donors. Guess we will find out in the years to come.
To your question of "is it enough?" YES. We know it is enough because the market proves it. Players are not opting out of the current agreement. In fact, there are thousands of players lining up to do it for the current arrangement without added compensation. Why the hell someone would offer to pay someone for a job when people are lining up to do it for free is beyond my level of comprehension.