In response to Stacey Osburn’s tender question – But do we really want to signal to society and high school students that making money is the reason to come play a sport in college, as opposed to getting an education, which will benefit you for a lifetime? – has she noticed how much money Jordan Spieth’s made since he left Texas in the middle of his second year there to turn pro? Too bad college football players don’t have the same choice available to them.
The NCAA’s problem isn’t that it’s a choice of love or money for the kids. It’s that the NFL has a staggering love for money.
Get The Picture 
$800K for a week’s work, not to shabby.
I’m not an avid golf fan and honestly had no idea who Spieth was until I looked him up on Wikipedia yesterday. Saw that he had left halfway through his sophomore year to turn pro and immediately thought of all the recent discussion here.
Side note, obviously I was cheering for Bubba, but I couldn’t bring myself to cheer against Spieth. He seems like a pretty classy kid. I enjoyed listening to his interactions with his caddy.
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Jordan is the next great American golf superstar. He will be the face of Titleist and Under Armour for the next 15 years assuming he continues to progress in the game like Tiger for Nike, Phil for Callaway, and Bubba for PING.
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I agree. Maybe a Bubba and Jordan rivalry to come.
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It’s too bad the NFL has their anti-trust exemption and NFLPA contract where they can keep athletes who are ready out of the League until they say they’re eligible. The real restraint of trade is on Park Avenue. If the NCAA could have just gotten through their thick skulls that enabling college athletes to benefit from their names and likenesses and enabling full-cost scholarships wouldn’t have changed the status quo, they wouldn’t be facing the facts that their system is getting ready to implode in O’Bannon. I just can’t see Congress granting the NCAA an anti-trust exemption now to protect Emmert and his cronies from their own pride and idiocy.
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Well, UGA now has President who is uniquely qualified to understand the gamut and nuances of the college athletics crossroads dilemma. Interestingly enough, unlike his pinhead predecessor, Morehead knows when to hold ’em close.
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You have more confidence in Jere that I do. I haven’t seen anything from him yet that tells me that he isn’t an Adams clone. And how does doing absolutely nothing at all qualify as evidence of progressive thinking? The first thing that needs to be done in Athens is to revamp the moronic “disciplinary” system created by by Adams that punishes the team and the school more than the player and places the school at a disadvantage against our rivals. Call me when Ol’ Jere does that.
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I wonder if Stacey would be cool with the rest of us limiting her work options based on what we thought was best for her or the most efficient use of her time/money.
This is much of what’s wrong with the whole country right now – majorities using force to make minorities live/give like the majority thinks is right.
Today you’re on one side, tomorrow the other, and we are all less free.
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Don’t think you can use the majorities v minorities in this manner. How about those in positions of power v people subjugated by that power?
Nevertheless, I agree that we have less liberties than before.
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That’s an interesting question, and I get your point. However, this:
Suggests she’s making an appeal to the people – what she’s actually trying to get across is “what kind of society puts filthy money before a noble education?!?”
It’s almost a have-you-stopped-beating-your-wife? question, of course.
She’s trying to win the public opinion battle, as it’s the government that provided this sweetheart deal and the government that can screw it up for them. In an increasingly “democratic” country, the government is majority rules…so the public, in this case and imho = “the people in power”.
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Back to the O’Bannon case, it seems the WWL has now got some skin in the game. The judge seemed to say that the distributors (ESPN, FOX etc) need to get the players approval to use their images if the NCAA loses it’s ability to force a student to forfeit his/her rights. The only way that’s going to work is by there being a players association. A union by any other name is still a union. The NCAA and the presidents have gotten into the quicksand up to their ankles, the only problem is they are in it head first.
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Maybe you should start a professional football league that allows 19 year olds to play football for pay. Geez, the system doesn’t exist but this is America – go start your league if i’s such a great opportunity.
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Ron, it’s a lot easier to start a football blog than a football league.
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Hey great – you’re a free market guy, I am too.
This is America, right? So how about we let the market work. Get rid of the monopoly exemption the government has granted the NFL, also their ability to set wage and price restrictions (illegal in other industries) like salary caps, and how about the millions in subsidies provided by municipalities? The subsidies from local govts are Constitutional, but they’re hardly “free market” – you think the Senator’s league should have to compete against all that?
Also, the NCAA and colleges are effectively in collusion as well, because they are price fixing, too – as part of the government, they’ve collaborated with the NFL on this price-fixing scheme – creating an environment where the players must sell their services for the cost of an education or have a value-less skill, much like if the government outlawed electricians unless they went to work for the government for a three year unpaid apprenticeship.
So tell you what, give us a free market where young football players are free to exploit their talents like the rest of us, and business are competing for their labor like the rest of us, and if nobody wants their labor but colleges, then we can tell them to stfu and be happy for the opportunity to play for Grand Ole U. Until then, this “America” you’re referencing exists only in your mind.
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+1000. CD, you have put your finger on the very problem–the free market has been circumvented. And this is just one of thousands and thousands of such circumventions in the US. We don’t have a free market in this country any more. Almost everything is warped by subsidies, government regulation, exemptions, tax credits, you name it.
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At least Russell is #1 in the NFL Players Inc. (NFLPI) rankings
https://www.nflplayers.com/Articles/Press-Releases/Wilson-Tops-Manning-on-NFLPI-Top-25-Player-Sales-List/
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In reality the problem is the NFL…not College Football…
I like the rule they have for Baseball…go pro out of High School if you want, but if you enroll in College, I believe it is 3 years…Seems to work fine.
‘Cept the NFL doesn’t want to spend the money it costs to run MINOR Leagues…that gets in the way.
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