Quotes from those that know and they know it's bad for college sports. Boosters rule the roost and it's illegal. Free cheating under the guise of NIL.
“You always stayed away from the boosters. Now, they are running it.”
“I bet Ron Meyer is rolling in his grave,” Bowden says. “I can hear him now: ‘I told them they’d legislate this thing! We were doing it the right way!’”
“We are exactly where we didn’t want to go,” MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher says. “That’s not name, image and likeness—that’s pay for play.”
“For really good players out of high school,” McKernan says, “you’re talking $100,000 a year.”
“Everybody wants to hide under the NIL umbrella. This isn’t NIL,” says Rick George, the Colorado athletic director. “As the leaders of the industry, we have to say, ‘This is not acceptable.’”
“NIL,” says Corey Staniscia, the external affairs director at the NIL deal-making platform Dreamfield, “it’s become a dirty, tarnished word already.”
“It’s the new arms race,” he says. “It’s gone from coaching salaries to facilities and now it’s name, image and likeness.”
I dont disagree with you. IT is pay to play, but if you dont play we'll get left farther behind.
IF you are a 18 year kid who grew up dirt poor relying on your single mother working 3 jobs to support 3 kids, NIL is a major factor for you. To provide a little support while you(The man of the house) are away at school.
We all understand what NIL was hypothetically supposed to be, but we all knew what it would quickly devolve into. I dont have to like it, to seek for it to be leveraged for the betterment of our program.
Also, "What is Value"...... Current WVU players have received Ford vehicles from a WVU booster who owns a Ford dealership. All they do is take a picture or a quick video at the dealership and post on their social media. Technically thats marketing(actual NIL).... An SA can post 1 thing to their social media and make $100k+....
Thats capitalism.... Players receive compensation for perceived offered value. Value in this instance is multifactorial.
NIL is here to stay. NCAA is weak and should have made BIllion dollar video game makers give players a profit sharing. That is fair, that is actual NIL in practice, but NCAA has completely failed, EVERYONE.... The fans, the players, the institutions.. and the game we love.
The only thing they can do now is put restrictions on the transfer portal. Which I completely support.
I dont like what its doing, but if you dont adapt to this new world Allen, WVU will only widen its disadvantages and fans will be calling for new coaches every 2-3 years, when theres nothing the staffs can do to compete with NIL.
You have to put yourself in the shoes of most of these recruits/players. Even an extra $24k-$48k per year or perhaps a new vehicle, is life altering for themselves and their families. So it will likely outweigh personal relationships or staff quality....
Option1. I love the staff and university, but no NIL
Option2. I like the staff and university, AND I get $36k per year and a new vehicle for a few social media posts & pictures.
Vast majority of players will choose Option 2.
Its no different then you accepting a new job for higher salaries.... Its the same mindset....
People are largely driven by greed and monetary benefits. That is a fact of life. I dont disagree with your views, and I certainly agree transfer portal needs restrictions, but if WVU & Our boosters dont get on top of this and fully leverage strategic & efficient applications, we will only be left behind. We have to adapt...
Technically speaking, NCAA was breaking the law by not allowing players to make nil. So, how it is now, is how it should have been all along from a legality & NCAA policy perspective.
There is a way for WVU to reduce its wealth disadvantages, by using annual returns to pay for nil, instead of relying on yearly donations. Im going to deploy this model for myself, and perhaps after a few years Ill meet with someone at CRT to discuss them joining it. Im going to do what I can, Im doing my part, but my reach / impact is limited. Hopefully in 10 years I can pursue 10 players every year, but if I can get 2-3 starting in 2024, Ill be happy with that...
I think the most important thing, even for those who dont agree and will never donate to nil, is to donate to the MAC, buy season tickets, go to games, buy merch, buy streaming packages, watch games.... Small things that will show the strength of the fanbase. In a changing world, that could make a huge difference in the end if major landslides occur in a few years.