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A new world in college sports arrives tomorrow. Athletes can now make money off their name, image and likeness. I am not going to try and explain which states have a law and which don't and what the NCAA is trying to do so schools can have some type of policy in place. That's just boring.
This is more about the fact that starting tomorrow dozens and likely hundreds of college athletes will be agreeing to deals that will earn them money. If that bothers you, then it says more about you. I have never supported the idea of schools paying players. Not because players do not deserve compensation but because I don't believe there is a system that works to pay all athletes and I also know many athletic departments don't make money- something that is their fault.
But what I don't get is why any fan of college football, basketball or any university and their teams would be bothered if the players they watch- or the ones they never support- begin to make some money because someone else sees value in them.
How many of you know what kind of car your team's starting quarterback drives? You likely have no idea. Some of you think car dealers will not line up to give cars away to start players and how teams will use that to lure recruits. Maybe. But car dealerships are about making money. If the people who handle the finances and marketing for a dealership think paying or providing a car to a football player increases their sales then it's worth doing a deal. If they don't think it increases sales, they won't do a deal. But if you saw the starting QB driving a new 2021 vehicle around campus, why would that bother you?
Florida linebacker Derek Wingo has about 11,000 followers on Twitter. Come tomorrow he will be among a number of football players with a social media deal that will pay him for posts. You might see Wingo give a shout out to someone or promote a product. Someone believes his message reaching over 10,000 followers has value. Why would that bother you?
In a few weeks there will likely be dozens of athletes in non-revenue sports that will offer a clinic or summer camp where people can bring their kids to learn about a sport or how to get better. At that clinic or camp, these athletes may end up charging $20-$50 for a few hours. When that camp or clinic ends that athlete may make $800 after expenses. Why would that bother you?
Come this fall, a business may think that a football player or volleyball player has a compelling story to share in front of a large group. And for a 30-minute speech, that athlete may get paid $500. Why would that bother you?
You may learn of some athletes signing national deals and hear that they could be making more than $200,000. There likely will be a gymnast on some team in the SEC with tens of thousands of followers on multiple social media platforms and they will be making six figures to post and promote products. Why would that bother you?
Get it? Getting to this moment has taken decades and many lawsuits and lots of confusion by many in college athletics. But when you simplify this it's not that complicated and it's not that big of a deal.
Will some teams abuse the system and bend the rules? Yes, that is always the case. But within a few months we all will adapt and accept this is the new world in college athletics. When the football season begins little will change. You will still expect your team to go undefeated and if your starting QB is throwing touchdowns and winning games then you won't care how many social media deals he has. If the team is losing you will want the coach fired and blame those social media deals for his inconsistent play.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Welcome to the new world of college athletics. It's not that different.
Final note: Pizza Hut was started by two Wichita State students in 1958. Today, there's about 19,000 locations