I really don't have a dog in this fight ....

[Thumper]

... but I have a quershun regarding the flap these days about college ball players being paid to play. I'll admit, I haven't followed the arguments and like most any ball sports, frankly don't give a flip, but I do hear about it while watching the news and I'm curious as to what youse dufes think about it.

Here's my take FWIW:

1) Many students graduate with massive student loan debt, but the supposed pay-off is that they'll be able to draw higher salaries with that degree, so it's a trade-off.

2) I'm assuming these ball players are attending college on a full scholarship, so in effect, they're ALREADY getting PAID to play, not to mention receiving "free" training from a big-time coach who probably draws a million dollar salary.

3) Some (not all), but "some" of these players are dumb as a box of rocks, but still manage to come out with a college degree (although it may be a degree in underwater basket-weaving for all I know).

4) IF they're GOOD at what they do, they'll go on to the pro's and become mega-bazillionaires. If not, join the rest of us losers and get a "real" job. Afterall, you do have that "free" degree you can fall back on.

5) Without the school you play for, chances are, nobody would ever know who you are in the first place. Should the players pay the school for the millions of dollars of free advertising they receive that will catch the eyes of the pro scouts?

I'm sure I could come up with more questions, but again, I really have no understanding about how most sports programs work, so many of my questions can probably be shot down due to my own ignorance of the machinery involved. IF they get paid actual cash IN ADDITION TO millions of dollars of schooling, coaching/training, world-wide exposure, future endorsements, etc, where does it end? Should our Olympic contenders go onto the payroll also?

I would think the big "point" here is the money the school receives when they have a successful sports program. So what? They're offering a TON of $$$ in return (as noted above) and will receive zilch (other than notoriety) from the future earnings of the athletes they essentially took a gamble on and groomed for their future careers. Am I full of hot air? Or do I have some valid points? Just askin'.

[quercus alba]

Didn't you know? It's unAmerican to make a profit off your employees even if they're being well compensated. As a corporation, you're obligated to give every dime of profit back to the employees

[Thumper]

Well, maybe we should wait until after the next Presidential election. It's possible any student loan debts will be erased and college will be free, so maybe they WILL have to come up with some additional compensation for these poor athletes. This post may be a bit premature.

[Arty]

The schools aren’t going to be paying them. They will be allowed to make commercials, endorsements, etc.
I say why not.
Less than 2% on NCAA athletes go on to professional ball. Let them make some money along the way.

To point 1 of your post... for every college grad that goes into a career where the student loan debt was “worth it”, there’s another grad that goes into a career where it wasn’t.



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[Thumper]

To point 1 of your post... for every college grad that goes into a career where the student loan debt was “worth it”, there’s another grad that goes into a career where it wasn’t.

Yessir, hence my tongue-in-cheek reference above to the degree in underwater basket-weaving. I've always thought many college degrees are one step above worthless. I have a friend with a college degree (can't even remember her major) but she can barely spell her own name, has the worst grammar skills known to man and has worked the front desk of a cheap (Pakistani owned) motel in a rundown area of Orlando for the past 20-years. My brother graduated with a degree in Sociology and when he came out of school, it seemed he expected the world to come beating his door down while clamoring to hire him! Ummm, he was in for a rude awakening and eventually went into a (successful) career that had nothing to do with his degree. I've always thought a degree was made for professionals (for the most part) and was many times, just a piece of paper with bragging rights to be hung on a wall someplace. I do remember Bucky had the same exact thoughts on this as I did. WOW! Something the Buckster and I actually totally agreed on!

Of course there are exceptions, but generally, I think there are a ton of degrees out there that aren't worth the paper they're printed on, much less the pile of student debt incurred to obtain them.

[Hombre]

The schools aren’t going to be paying them. They will be allowed to make commercials, endorsements, etc.
I say why not.
Less than 2% on NCAA athletes go on to professional ball. Let them make some money along the way.

To point 1 of your post... for every college grad that goes into a career where the student loan debt was “worth it”, there’s another grad that goes into a career where it wasn’t.



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I largely agree with this. I think that the players, while they do get a college education, they can't work any job outside of the sport they play, its a full time job. I think they should be able to make enough to live a normal kid life, go out to eat once in a while, go to a movie and afford some beer! I also think they it needs to be thought out well though. This has the potential to make king makers for schools who will have the most air time, or the best ability for students to be on the big stage.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I agree in principle that these folks should be compensated for when others are making money off of their image and likeness and so forth.
What worries me is that to understand and find those kinds of opportunities will require the athletes to sign agents, which are the bane of amateur sports everywhere. If (when) the National Communists Against Athletes passes these new rules, a whole new business of college athletic agents will be born. And Posthole’s Postulate will be demonstrated once again.
BKB

[Thumper]

To point 1 of your post... for every college grad that goes into a career where the student loan debt was “worth it”, there’s another grad that goes into a career where it wasn't.


Ha! That just reminded me of a Thump story. Years ago, I was growing tired of the car (dealership) business and was considering trying something a little different, but still related. Over the years, I had formed a pretty close relationship with various car rental companies in town as we were always calling for rentals for customers who would drop their cars off for service. I had an especially close relationship with Enterprise Car Rental (90% sure it was Enterprise) and went in to talk with them one day to feel them out. The talk went well and the particular manager I was working with took me out to lunch. We'd worked together for years and he seemed excited that I was considering a possible move to the company. Now, mind you, I wasn't shooting for an executive position, just a "Customer Service" type position to get my feet wet in the industry. Things were moving along well until he asked where I went to college. I told him I'd attended the Univ. of Tennessee, but ended up going to work for Uncle Sam and never went back for my degree. Oooops! It turned out, at that time anyway, ALL positions in the company required a college degree! A degree in what you ask? It didn't matter. WTF! To stand behind a desk and rent cars?? Things came to a screeching halt and I continued on, managing one of the largest Cadillac dealers in Los Angeles ... all WITHOUT a degree.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Who decides that shit anyway? HR? Some executive?
In honesty, I think some of those ‘requirements’ are pretty soft and are more ‘screeners’ than anything else.
In general, I don’t think college degrees, regardless how connected they are with the job, are worthless. I was based on a fighter (F4) pilot training base in the AF. I got to know several along the way. Degrees were required to be an officer and thus to be eligible to be pilots. There were English degrees, History degrees, you name it. It seems there were many ‘pilot degrees’ or anything to do with aviation. During my careerI met many professionals whose degrees in no way related to the field they were in.
I think there is a lot of merit in learning things other than what you will use in life. Folks don’t study the ‘classics’ much any more. And it makes me cringe when I hear people complaining about having to learn algebra in high school. For fucks sake, are people really that stupid?

Totally OTOH, I have met more useless, petty, ill educated fuckers with MBA’s than any other degree. Somebody somewhere really sold businesses on the value of being an asshole.
Sorry if that insults any of you MBA’s. Maybe I just met the bottom third of them or something.

BKb