There’s gold in that there social media.

Other than boosters going Wild West on five-star recruits, a lot of you don’t seem to grasp the concept that college athletes’ NIL rights actually have value, especially in this age of monetizing social media presence.

Here’s data prepared for The Athletic ($$) that estimates what the top ten college athletes could have earned in 2019, based on Instagram followers:

Three of those names won’t be playing in the NFL or NBA any time soon.

And that’s just social media earnings.  There’s more out there for these kids, even if you leave boosters gone wild out of the mix.  If any of this helps a college athlete decide to stay in school another year, why should we object?

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“We’re all going to have to be careful about the management of our resources.”

I think the technical term for this is “wishful thinking”.

“Hoping the coaches themselves and their agents have the ability to recognize what we’re all dealing with nationally and internationally, which impacts every facet of our business and hoping that even in the most successful situations there’s a recognition of that and find a way to work together: Can we do an extension with no pay increase and those type of things?’ Ingram said. “’We want you to be here and we want you to be our coach. But goodness sakes, look at what we just dealt with from this past season whenever that is.’ I’d like to think there will be an understanding.”

Jimmy Sexton hears “goodness sakes” a couple of times and I’m sure he’ll melt right on the spot.  I’m surprised no AD has thought of that before.

I think the technical term for this is “reality”.

“There’s just so much unknown,” Blair said. “If we have a football season, I think everything is back to normal. If we don’t have a season, I think a lot of ADs will try to go back to the negotiating table and rework contracts.”

It will be fun to see which ones don’t.  It’ll also be interesting to see what kind of concessions the Sextons of the world bargain for when those negotiations start.

Pollard believes college athletics is “killing the golden goose.” He was referencing NIL issues ahead of the NCAA’s announcement last week, but his point in terms of coaching salaries and buyouts rings true even after the announcement.

“We’re the only industry where the coaches make more than the players,” Pollard said. “We have no one to blame for the problem we’re in but ourselves.”

Pollard, a proponent of antitrust exemption for college athletics, went on to describe college athletics as having lost its way. With the COVID-19 outbreak ravaging the sport’s finances, he and some others nationally feel this is a time for reflection.

The technical term for that is “horseshit”.  These people don’t do reflection well.  Which is why they’re flailing around now.

“Compensation is a really complicated issue,” McMillen said. “There’s a lot of angst in the system about it.”

No shit, Sherlock.  I can see why the ADs pay you the big bucks to lobby for them.

An absolute wild card

The more I read about what Jamie Newman brings to the table…

• “… Newman has a good arm with solid velocity and athleticism to scramble into the open field and make plays with his legs because of that ability to extend the play.”
• “… Standing at 6’4″ and showing off a good, but not great arm, Newman has the necessary physical tools to succeed at the NFL level.”
• “The other thing that Newman will show out on tape is flashes of great tight-window throws.”
• “He has the natural contact balance to break tackles and move around to create magic out of structure.”
• “The first big issue is the fact that Newman often fails to process changes in the picture from pre-snap to post-snap as a whole.”
• “I have issues with his pocket movement, as well.”
• “On timing plays, he is rushing his mechanics as a result of being a beat behind the hit off the receiver’s break.”

… the more I become convinced he is a very different kind of quarterback than Jake Fromm was.

Although at least both have footwork issues in common, so there’s that.  Let’s hope Todd Monken is a skilled quarterback coach.  He’s got some teaching moments ahead of him.

Booster shot

As legislation for college athletes’ NIL rights is being debated, what continues to come out of the FBI’s investigation into college basketball and shoe company payments might be a little overlooked.

Maybe it shouldn’t ($$).

On Monday, the NCAA served Louisville with a Notice of Allegations based largely on evidence produced by the FBI’s investigation into college basketball. The most serious charges involve payments that were allegedly arranged by two assistant coaches and a pair of employees at Adidas: Jim Gatto, who was then director of global sports marketing for basketball, and Merl Code, a consultant. The first sentence in the allegation identifies “the Adidas corporation” as a “representative of the institution’s athletic interests.” This is NCAA-speak for “booster,” a term commonly applied to someone who donates to an athletic department.

The booster claim echoed ones that were also made in NOAs the NCAA has served to N.C. State and Kansas.

And here’s the money quote (see what I did there?).

“It kind of shocked me,” says Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, who recently served as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. “I never thought of it like that. If there’s money changing hands, then yeah, they’re a booster, but I don’t think any of us look at the support we get from sneaker companies and think of that as violations. They’re giving us information to help close the deal (with recruits).”  [Emphasis added.]

Interesting to watch a can of worms being opened in real time, but there you are.  This has the potential to go in a lot of different directions, if the NCAA so chooses.

Jim Harbaugh’s open letter

I suspect a lot of you are going to like this.

 

Here is the open letter to the football community from #Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh who shares his proposals, including allowing college football players to be one and done before entering #NFL draft pic.twitter.com/7Z30cWrzFX

— Larry Lage (@LarryLage) May 7, 2020

Two problems:  one, it requires the cooperation of the NFL, which is probably a non-starter.  Second, it makes way too much sense for the NCAA to accept.

Other than that, it’s perfect.

Friday morning buffet

Good morning, campers.  Dig in.

• Greg Sankey sounds a little salty in this coronavirus-related Q&A.
• Sports247 ranks the nation’s top 25 head coaches.  Kirby checks in at number four.  The Portal Master™?  Eighth.
• While we’re ranking Dawgs and Gators, Pro Football Network ranks the top ten quarterbacks for the 2021 NFL draft.  Jamie Newman is fifth.  Kyle Trask isn’t even an honorable mention. (h/t)
• If you’re interested, here’s Pete Fiutak’s preview of Boom’s Fighting Gamecocks.
• The NCAA approved a waiver that will allow schools to spend below the minimum level on athletic scholarships required to compete in Division I.
• Oregon Governor Kate Brown:  “There is some difficult news to share. Large gatherings, including live sporting events with audiences, concerts, festivals and conventions, will not be able to return until we have a reliable treatment or prevention like a vaccine. The Oregon Health Authority is advising that any large gatherings at least through September should either be canceled or significantly modified. I know this is really, really hard.”

From the land of it just means more

.@JoshTheAthletic tells us that the SEC has "everything on the table" regarding its options for the 2020 season. "If the SEC’s only option is to play football by themselves and crown a champion in Atlanta, they’ll do that.”

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 7, 2020

The SEC — fuck yeah!

The Kirby and Boom Show

Like it or not, they’re gonna make you laugh, especially when they talk about Nick “Cutting Edge Technology” Saban.

From talking about family to fixing technology to talking about Nick Saban's film routine, @KirbySmartUGA is surprised by @CoachWMuschamp and they dive into it all on "Connected." pic.twitter.com/loa0pW55k0

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) May 8, 2020