Something I HATE

greenminer · January 1, 2018

How about a stipulation in the LOI contract? If ya skip the bowl game and get drafted, you owe school X amount of dollars.

shootermcgavin44 · January 1, 2018

11 minutes ago, greenminer said:

How about a stipulation in the LOI contract? If ya skip the bowl game and get drafted, you owe school X amount of dollars.

Sounds good. They pay their 12k tuition as they get their signing bonus for 6 million. Great plan

GMG24 · January 1, 2018

3 hours ago, shootermcgavin44 said:

The Rooty Mcpoo Luby's bowl isn't worth being set for life if you are a projected high draft pick. More than worth the cost of your proposed plan ace

Then shoot your shot. If you faint, don't come crying about how you didn't get to finish your education

VideoEagle · January 1, 2018

While I don't like it, this isn't a major problem. We're talking a potential of 32 or so guys out of over 4000 players who play in bowl games each year. And it's only a potential of that many as a lot of the best players still participate in the bowl games. How often has the Heisman or other major trophy winners sat out? Not a lot. Only a very, very few players can't improve their draft chances by playing a good bowl game. NFL teams don't care for middle round players who are too scared of injury to play.

BillySee58 · January 1, 2018

On 12/31/2017 at 12:39 PM, GMG_Dallas said:

I'm sure the HC can pay for that final semester with the bonus money he got from his star player helping get the team to a bowl game. Surely 23 TFL and 10 Sacks had something to do with the 9-4 record.

It's a shame this has downvotes. Most of the guys who are relevant to this conversation earn their school millions of dollars a year and help make their coaches a lot of money as well. And they continue to help make their school even more money by being drafted high and having successful NFL careers, which they are trying to assure.

To think these guys should be responsible for paying any money back to their schools for sitting out a bowl game in which 1. They helped the school get to and will make basically the same amount of money off of whether the player sits out or not 2. Gives their backup/backups a chance to standout as he/they begin their journey towards becoming a starter/standout and further their chances of making the NFL as well 3. Helps the coaches sort out the future of that position for the games that they are judged on for evaluating their jobs (regular season and conference games).

Below is a chart of the estimated fair-market value for college players. And this is an averaged number based on 85 scholarship players, of which not every team has every given season and not all of which play, whether due to redshirting or coaches decision. For the projected first round pick it's likely close to double for their respective schools' average.

Imagine Texas earning about $2 mill off a player over 3 seasons, while paying about $75K in cost of attendance for the player plus another $10-15K or so in stipend money, asking for the player to return $12.5K for the last semester WHILE that player is earning the school more notoriety by becoming a first round pick. Here is the business insider article where they calculated the fair-market value

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/college-football-player-value-2017-11

GMG_Dallas · January 1, 2018

1 hour ago, BillySee58 said:

Imagine Texas earning about $2 mill off a player over 3 seasons, while paying about $75K in cost of attendance for the player plus another $10-15K or so in stipend money, asking for the player to return $12.5K for the last semester WHILE that player is earning the school more notoriety by becoming a first round pick. Here is the business insider article where they calculated the fair-market value

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/college-football-player-value-2017-11

I really didn't want to get into this but I will (to an extent) since you brought it up.

I've seen people mention that they wish they had been offered a free education for playing a game and that the players are essentially taken care of. This notion is false. The stipends these players receive are so minimal it's not even funny. We're talking a few hundred a month usually totaling $2000-$5000 (per reports I've read) per academic year. These players need clothing, entertainment, and other experiences outside of just being a college athlete. They aren't allowed to have jobs, not even a part time job, yet work 40-50 hour weeks year round while having to maintain academics. Heck, they even play/travel holidays. What they "receive" is a $0 balance due at the end of the ride. Mostly every penny they "earn" is spent before they see it.

So when it's all said and done, after work days usually starting around 6 am and having your entire day planned for you, travel and play on Saturdays, recovery Sundays, usually amounting to 40-50 hour work weeks (I will cite sources if requested), they make school education plus cost of living (room & board) and $5000 max a year with no ability to earn extra on their own during the summer. What does this look like, if you're at UNT or most Texas public schools? About $25,000 a year, or about $12/hour for 40 hour work weeks (no OT pay).

I challenge people on this board to ask college athletes about the life of a D1 college athlete. I've talked to many. It's not as fun as it sounds outside of actually playing the game.

Edited January 1, 2018 by GMG_Dallas

greenminer · January 2, 2018

1 hour ago, GMG_Dallas said:

They aren't allowed to have jobs, not even a part time job,...

I thought Fitzgerald worked at Whataburger even after he was put on scholly?

GMG_Dallas · January 2, 2018

1 hour ago, greenminer said:

I thought Fitzgerald worked at Whataburger even after he was put on scholly?

You're probably right. I was told by a few student athletes I knew at UNT and some I know now from other schools that they can't have jobs but what I'm finding is they are allowed to as long as the job is not based on athletic ability and they are paid comparable to the going rate for the industry in the area.

What I'm assuming the people I know/knew meant is they did not have time to maintain a job and being a student athlete. During the spring they still have time consuming schedules and during the summer still have athletic requirements but I guess some can make it work.

GMG_Dallas · January 2, 2018

@greenminer sorry for the inaccuracy. Still a lot to put on a kid with everything else they are required to do.

shootermcgavin44 · January 2, 2018

22 hours ago, GMG24 said:

Then shoot your shot. If you faint, don't come crying about how you didn't get to finish your education

Why would they not get to finish their education at some point if they wanted to come back?

GMG24 · January 2, 2018

34 minutes ago, shootermcgavin44 said:

Why would they not get to finish their education at some point if they wanted to come back?

What happens when they don't get drafted, do something silly and fall all the way off the board? Not saying everyone will, but it'll happen. This is amateur sports, sure colleges make $$ and a lot of it based on athletes performance. Their reward for said performance is owing $0 dollars for the degree and maybe even masters the earn while playing a sport. Is it hard as hell? Absolutely. It's an absolute grind more or less 7 am-7/9pm every night. I just don't feel bad for any flack any guy gets for sitting out his bowl game. I don't understand why the kids are allowed to travel either. They have essentially quit the team, while they're looking out for themselves. Scott Frost set the bar a top UCF for coaches moving on, and imo that's the new standard,

leave early you're writing a big fat check out of your bank acct, not some booster from next big time school. Directly from you to institution.

Edited January 2, 2018 by GMG24

greenminer · January 2, 2018

18 minutes ago, GMG24 said:

What happens when they don't get drafted, do something silly and fall all the way off the board?

I was never scouted or drafted, and I managed. What are you suggesting?

Arkstfan · January 2, 2018

I don't place a lot of stock in those "a player is worth" things.

When LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami and vice versa he had a fan following that ran out and bought his new jersey for the new team.

I suspect every person who traded in their Baker Mayfield Texas Tech jersey for an OU jersey was related to him or a close friend. College fans just rarely are primarily a fan of the player, they are a fan of the player because of the team the player plays for.