College football players union

[Morrison]

Samuel McKewon ‏@swmckewonOWH 8m

As Colter said, union's demands will be modest. Freedom to take certain classes. More rest periods. A removal of arbitrary pencil rolls.

Samuel McKewon ‏@swmckewonOWH 7m

You'll see the media couple this ruling in with pay-for-play. Don't take that bait. They're not the same thing.

The problem with these statements is that this might be the goal of athletes like Colter who are pushing for this now. They have absolutely no control over what this union pushes for 10-15 years from now.

+1. Thank you.

 

[QMany]

but, i get what you are saying. however, can you really call student athletes "amateurs" when they are making millions of dollars not only for their schools, but many networks? i wish it was not like this, but it is because so many have continually exploited the model and the popularity of college football has reached levels never imagined just a couple decades ago. (side note: wasn't TO in favor of paying athletes?)

Yeah, I am fine with calling them amateurs. Universities began most of these programs decades/centuries ago. It wasn't about profit, they were probably losing money at the time. They have developed their "product" and it is wildly successful. If these kids think they are being exploited, certainly they are valuable enough to go elsewhere at capitalize on their talent. Go! Who is stopping them?

Brandon Jennings is doing well in the NBA, but he didn't want to go the college route. Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, and Demar Derozen were similarly ranked in HS, paid their dues to the NCAA model, and were also picked in the first round of the subsequent draft. Brandon Jennings saw benefit in one route, the others saw benefit in another.

Oh, there isn't another viable option for football? That is the NCAA's fault? No, not in my opinion.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Rivals.com ‏@Rivals 4m

Northwestern players win its union battle against NU after @NLRB rules in their favor. What do you think about unions in college sports?

As a former scholarship athlete (thankfully I am from a naturally-strong family), even I think this is ridiculous. I can confirm what was mentioned earlier in the thread regarding athlete compensation; it is not minimal. The amount of perks these guys get in terms of clothing, food, travel stipends, room and board stipends, gadgets (Ipads in every locker!), tutoring, and, let's be honest, notoriety, is considerable. Yes, the athletic departments and (NCAA) are making tons of cash, but I think people sometimes fail to consider that a significant amount of that cash is reinvested in the athletic facilities/programs at these schools (the much decried "athletic facilities arms race") - which is a benefit to the players that is not really quantifiable.

Someone above me said that greed would bring down CFB before medical concerns did, and I think they might be right.

I agree with this. It boggles my mind that we spend 55 million dollars on facilities that really...let's be honest...does not make the athlete better. It is for one purpose, to attract the athlete to the school and pamper them while they are here. This is at least to some level, compensation that even the smartest academic student on a full ride could only dream of.

 

[sd'sker]

As a former scholarship athlete (thankfully I am from a naturally-strong family), even I think this is ridiculous. I can confirm what was mentioned earlier in the thread regarding athlete compensation; it is not minimal. The amount of perks these guys get in terms of clothing, food, travel stipends, room and board stipends, gadgets (Ipads in every locker!), tutoring, and, let's be honest, notoriety, is considerable. Yes, the athletic departments and (NCAA) are making tons of cash, but I think people sometimes fail to consider that a significant amount of that cash is reinvested in the athletic facilities/programs at these schools (the much decried "athletic facilities arms race") - which is a benefit to the players that is not really quantifiable.

Someone above me said that greed would bring down CFB before medical concerns did, and I think they might be right.

and how does that compare to the hundreds of millions of dollars being made off of the product?

 

[Count 'Bility]

everyone talks about all the money the players are making for the schools and networks and such. Well, what about me? What about my fatass that sits around and watches the sh#t? I do my part too. Anyone wanna start a "College Athletics Fans' Union" with me. Cuz the idea is just as absurd.

 

[sd'sker]

everyone talks about all the money the players are making for the schools and networks and such. Well, what about me? What about my fatass that sits around and watches the sh#t? I do my part too. Anyone wanna start a "College Athletics Fans' Union" with me. Cuz the idea is just as absurd.

you are equating watching football to playing football? does the concept of consumer vs. producer really need to be explained?

 

[Count 'Bility]

And what about walk-ons? Are they "paid employees"? Or do they just get left out, since technically (since everything's "technical") THEY'RE the ones paying to play.

 

[Count 'Bility]

everyone talks about all the money the players are making for the schools and networks and such. Well, what about me? What about my fatass that sits around and watches the sh#t? I do my part too. Anyone wanna start a "College Athletics Fans' Union" with me. Cuz the idea is just as absurd.

you are equating watching football to playing football? does the concept of consumer vs. producer really need to be explained?

without the fans there's no show. What. The concept of a consumer's union is out of place?

it's fits in with the whole deal then.

 

[sd'sker]

everyone talks about all the money the players are making for the schools and networks and such. Well, what about me? What about my fatass that sits around and watches the sh#t? I do my part too. Anyone wanna start a "College Athletics Fans' Union" with me. Cuz the idea is just as absurd.

you are equating watching football to playing football? does the concept of consumer vs. producer really need to be explained?

without the fans there's no show. What. The concept of a consumer's union is out of place?

it's fits in with the whole deal then.

then why is there not an nfl consumer union if fans are so deserving?

and you could conceivable have a football team without fans. it would just have to be subsidized (like most college sports teams). there is literally no way to have college football without college football players.

 

[Count 'Bility]

They went how long without a players union. Maybe I'll just revolutionize and blow up the whole damn thing with a fan's union. i dont think they realize how much cost goes into things like cable/satellite plans and the designing of mancaves and such. Tailgating, traveling, ticktes, etc, Etc, ETC. And the stress the comes with following your favorite team. it seriously could have long term health effects.

 

[sd'sker]

They went how long without a players union. Maybe I'll just revolutionize and blow up the whole damn thing with a fan's union. i dont think they realize how much cost goes into things like cable/satellite plans and the designing of mancaves and such. And the stress the comes with following your favorite team. it seriously could have long term health effects.

that's the point, though. everything about college football has radically changed except the model that compensates the athletes. there was a time when it was not exploitative. but given how much money is being made off of the product, it is hard to argue that they are not being exploited.

this is not unpaid intern territory. this is much more extreme when you consider how much money is being made directly off of their product.

i do not like that this is happening. but i do not begrudge the players. for cripes sake, they were selling manziel's jerseys with "football" on the back and he could have gotten into trouble just for signing his name? like i said, the ncaa offered no middle ground and the only way athletes were going to gain anything was going full measure.

 

[Morrison]

and how does that compare to the hundreds of millions of dollars being made off of the product?

I imagine it's quite a bit less. But that in and of itself shouldn't be something we're concerned about - we all generate more money for our companies than we are paid ourselves. Doing some rough number crunching, I took home about $10,000 a year in pure profit, untaxed, based on my travel stipends and room and board stipends alone, each year I was in college. To be clear, that money was for pure spending, every living cost you could think of was already taken care of by the university. This is in addition to the non-quantifiable perks of being a student-athlete at a university (tutoring, people buying you drinks at a bar, etc.)

But really, who cares? I didn't do it for the money, I played college sports because I loved competing. I loved going out in front of 8,000 people a night and hearing them cheer for the team. I loved the way the school spirit showed up against our rivals, and the way the students rushed the court after we upset a heavily favored opponent. I loved hearing "hey, good game last night" from the random guy I sat next to in calculus. I loved the bonding experiences I shared with my teammates, many of whom are still my closest friends today. I love being able to go back now and catch a game and still get treated like family by the administration and coaches.

Those are the things that make college athletics so special, and it is sad for me to see it degraded to, essentially, "I deserve more money for my hard work". Yes, it is a ton of hard work, but the reward for that work shouldn't need to be more money. There are plenty of other ways the collegiate athletic experience can be rewarding without it and thats what so special about it. Hell, looking back on it now, I'd PAY money just to have some of those experiences again. Rarely has the professional world been so exciting or rewarding - even though I get paid a heck of a lot more now. Or maybe I'm just naive.

We already have enough leagues where its all about the money and I'd hate to see college athletics lose what makes them so unique - both to play, and to watch.

Edit: And if those things aren't enough for you, and you're in in for the money, I would echo Landlord (or was it Accountability's?) post from earlier - just sit out until you're eligible for the NBA/NFL draft.

 

[Count 'Bility]

They went how long without a players union. Maybe I'll just revolutionize and blow up the whole damn thing with a fan's union. i dont think they realize how much cost goes into things like cable/satellite plans and the designing of mancaves and such. And the stress the comes with following your favorite team. it seriously could have long term health effects.

that's the point, though. everything about college football has radically changed except the model that compensates the athletes. there was a time when it was not exploitative. but given how much money is being made off of the product, it is hard to argue that they are not being exploited.

this is not unpaid intern territory. this is much more extreme when you consider how much money is being made directly off of their product.

i do not like that this is happening. but i do not begrudge the players. for cripes sake, they were selling manziel's jerseys with "football" on the back and he could have gotten into trouble just for signing his name? like i said, the ncaa offered no middle ground and the only way athletes were going to gain anything was going full measure.

Well, I'm glad that you seem like you know that I'm halfly being a smart a$$.

So, on a serious note, the one concern I have is where does it stop?

 

[sd'sker]

So, on a serious note, the one concern I have is where does it stop?

i agree. i do not know where it stops. i really do hate that it has come to this. i never thought i would be defending the notion of paying college football players. i love the amateurism of it.

all i am saying is that it is crazy that we live in a capitalist society, people are making incredible amounts of money off of a product, and the producers of that product are being turned into villains for trying to monetize their skills.

it may be the end of college football as we know it, but the train left the station long ago. this would not be such an issue if it was just the schools making money off of the students. but it is also the ncaa, nike, adidas, espn, fox, ea, bcs, all the bowl sponsors, etc. making bank off of it. all the talk about these programs and conferences being "brands". it is no longer just a sport played by amateurs. it is now a product, worth a lot of money.

 

[True2tRA]

i blame the schools and ncaa for this. there was no middle ground offered to the "student"-athletes. they were either student or employees. they went the only way they could.

i find it funny that so many fans begrudge the student athletes for fighting for their rights. the athletes are the ones making the schools incredible amounts of money, and just because fans enjoy a product produced by poorly compensated athletes, fans think they are entitled (?) to such a product because it is just they way they like it and the students get more than enough? i just do not understand the ire against the athletes. let us not kid ourselves, they are poorly compensated for what they produce. there are networks dedicated to and paid for by college football. pro athletes are making ridiculous amounts of money. but college kids should be happy with an education, food, and free clothing (which is just advertisement for the clothing makers and school)?

how do people only see this from one side? the side that the athletes are greedy? everyone else involved in college athletes are disgustingly greedy, and the athletes ask for their share and it is "the biggest bs ever"? give me a break.

I blame everyone above the athlete for this. You have coaches making 5-8 million dollars with the ability to leave at the drop of the hat for a bigger pay day only to leave the athlete holding his wong and penalized if he leaves for a better program. You have huge TV networks literally making billions of dollars off of this product and (at least looking in from the outside) they don't give a crap about the athlete. You have product manufacturers that make huge amounts of money off of these athletes wearing their products. THEN...you have the NCAA who makes millions off of these sports only to turn around and penalize that athlete if he gets a free ham sandwich from someone or, God forbid, too many text books.

The system is totally messed up because of greed at the top. I don't agree with paying the athletes a salary. I say that only because I honestly think that will destroy the product and there are other examples of professions where someone makes little to nothing for a few years while getting started in the profession or being educated to hopefully get a pay day in the future.

I would be perfectly fine with this union if it were to guarantee the safety of the athlete, give the athlete a voice against the NCAA and give them some type of compensation if they are injured or harmed in a manner that affects them long term such as paralysis...etc. Athletes should have a voice in these issues. However, if this is only a matter of.....hey, I want to be payed big bucks to play college sports, then that will destroy college sports as we know it today and much of it will literally go away.

Absolutely freaking right. +1.

Take that " greed at the top destroying everything " theory and apply it to nearly every single aspect of life, because it's screwing up this entire country and it has been for a very, very, very long time.