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Evan's avatar

you are right -- this would never happen in any other country. No other country is built in such a way that so many athletes could gain so much from playing a sport. Not one. It is truly an honor for these kids to put on the UCLA uniform and to obtain a UCLA degree FOR FREE. It's an honor and a privilege, not a right. And I don't mean to denigrate them -- our players deserve this.

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ASDK's avatar

They can have the honor and privilege of being a UCLA Student-Athlete while at the same time not be compensated fairly for the value they bring to the institution, those two things are not mutually exclusive.

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Dimitri Dorlis's avatar

All I'm seeing right now is that people will be very receptive to my new article titled "Now is the time for college football players to seize the means of production"

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Pyramid of Success's avatar

Definitely. The Covid situation may not be directly related, but it is an opportunte moment to bring light to the larger issues of unfair compensation.

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Evan's avatar

what do you consider fair compensation? Do you place a value on free tuition and free room and board? Are you proposing an additional stipend and, if so, for what amount? I do not oppose such a stipend. But it seems like if these student-athletes want to convert their skills to money, they should become professionals. MLB is ok with this, maybe the NBA and NFL should stop standing in their way.

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Pyramid of Success's avatar

It's the million dollar question. Yes, I would agree that the value of the tuition and associated expenses should be accounted for. I think the short term solution would at least allow them to make money of their likeness and image. Initially, something like 50% revenue sharing distributed equally would be moving towards a more equitable compensation package. The other issue would then be that backups from small schools and the Heisman winner would be paid the same. Then the question of paying players directly out of high school high salaries to attract them would be ultimately the most fair. The whole draft system is anti American and capitalist. Could you ever imagine the worst team in the Premier League that is going to be relegaged getting automatically the best player from champions Liverpool?

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Pyramid of Success's avatar

I meant the best academy or reserve team player of the best team not the best player to compare to the draft to be clear

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Pyramid of Success's avatar

Until the NBA and NFL adopt those routes, then the college sports platform is realistically the only chance they have. You could argue that basketball is different, but you still get the best training and exposure in college. In this current system, the best are basically forced to go to college to then go pro.

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ASDK's avatar

Also, "No other country is built in such a way that so many athletes could gain so much from playing a sport" does not really hold well as an argument when European soccer exists

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Pyramid of Success's avatar

Precisely. See my comment above

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Evan's avatar

How many soccer players in Europe, who do NOT have the skills to become professional soccer players, convert their soccer skills into a free education at a world class university? I don't dispute that pro soccer players in Europe can and do make millions. Never said they don't.

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Pyramid of Success's avatar

I actually work in European soccer. That's a great example because at 16 top players have professional contracts and can be paid. Especially in the US where people should be paid for the revenue they generate, the college athletes are nowhere from fairly compensated. They can't even make money on their image and likeness!

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Evan's avatar

I totally agree with that. But what about the soccer players who are not good enough to go pro? What do they get out of it? Are they able to convert their soccer skills into free education? As the commercial says, 99% of NCAA athletes will go pro in something other than sports.

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Pyramid of Success's avatar

Nothing changes for those who don't go pro. They get a free education plus whatever the extra revenue agreement is. They just don't make money in the pros.

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