As it should be. I’m all for NIL and players making money. However, One thing I’ve never seen discussed is that unlike in professional sports, collegiate athletes literally get to pick and choose their team. They are able to vet, analyze, compare and contrast the situation they will be going into. No such system like that exists in pro sports until free agency. If you get drafted by the Panthers or Pirates or Pistons you are just out of luck for 4 to 7 years. Because of that I think some added regulation needs to occur and I don’t think that is unreasonable given the fact they initially get to choose their freaking landing spot.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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I agree, he doesn't owe anyone anything. All I said is that yes, selfishly, for my own benefit, I would like it.
And people respond to gossip and rumors all the time once it reaches a certain critical mass. Not saying this is at that point, but there is an x account with just shy of 40k followers that alluded to the rumors, so it is beyond the Illinois Loyalty message board and rando posters on x at this point.
The difference is LA doesn’t have to send money home to support his family. He’s already turned down more money to stay
I had a few thoughts on how this could be legally done as well. I have 2 major ideas, 1 good, 1 terrible:
Good:
1. Have schools agree to change the academic status for all incoming transfers including non-athletes to "provisional" or "probationary". Typically, this isn't too incorrect as incoming academic transfers are expected to keep a specific gpa the following year. Then the school/NCAA make it such that "good" academic standing is a requirement to participate in athletics. "Provisional" or "Probationary" status will change to "good" after a year of good academic standing. Freshmen start with "good" academic standing.
Borderline evil:
2. The worse idea? Go full wild west. Wait until an athlete challenges the courts to make it such that NIL offers are simply that, for NIL. I.e. a player can accept as many NIL contracts or offers as they want from as many locations as they want and any "no-compete" clause is illegal. It would then force all schools to play the game of is this player really going to enroll here or just take our donors money? And that will cause distrust in the market and bust it. It'd be similar to those punitive silent auctions where both the winner and the 2nd place bidder both have to pay but only the winner gets the prize. Though in this case the winner might not be the one who pays the most. Teams would have to value loyalty and relationship building over pure money.
I think the mechanics of this spring transfer window might be ripe for change. If it's getting to the point where players, particularly QBs, feel like they can use this window for maximum leverage against their current team, that's going to be an issue. I don't necessarily love the idea of getting rid of the window altogether (would hurt players who very clearly aren't going to get PT and could help another program) but maybe something where you can only hit the portal upon getting cut by your current team (so if you're getting buried in the depth chart you can ask to be cut) or something like that.
Hypothetically, if we are paying $2m and anyone offers $3m, you will 100% consider that. It’s a million dollar difference and life changing money
It would slow down the merry-go-round with no downside at all. Transfers would become very deliberate rather than impulsive. The never-ending talent auction would slow down a lot. Teams, fans, and players could make durable plans. Imagine how UT receivers must feel now? The whole team? The UCLA QB room? Nobody benefits from this chaotic mess. A sit-out year fixes it all.
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illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
Another DT in the portal.
He’s already taken a home town discount and turned down sec schools. His dad is an orthopedic surgeon they aren’t hurting for money.
soupy17
- MI
The closest thing is European soccer, where outside teams can approach the player and their management to reach an agreement on contract terms to join.
The missing piece in NCAA is the release agreement from their current employer, which I think can't happen in NCAA until there is a contract situation or the players are treated as employees of their current school.
Vols fans seem convinced that because Luke spent 1 season with Jeff Lebby at Ole Miss(not even as the starter mind you) that he knows Heupel's offense like the back of his hand.
I too, as someone who has watched Tennessee play a game of football, must know Heupel's offense by hand. And since we all know that Katy Perry floating around for a few minutes in the upper atmosphere makes her an astronaut, I will be the QB for Tennessee for far less than they would have to spend on Luke.
I too, as someone who has watched Tennessee play a game of football, must know Heupel's offense by hand. And since we all know that Katy Perry floating around for a few minutes in the upper atmosphere makes her an astronaut, I will be the QB for Tennessee for far less than they would have to spend on Luke.
I don't know anything about this guy. He seems to be an online commentator about UT football. No clue if he's plugged in or not. But he says they struck out with Luke. There was a flirtation, but Luke had worries about their WR room.
Again, I have no idea about the veracity of his information.
But, if he's right, we dodged a season altering hit. And Luke definitely knows what we have at WR, if he was unimpressed enough with UTs WR room, that at least speaks well of what we have.
Take it for what it's worth.
Again, I have no idea about the veracity of his information.
But, if he's right, we dodged a season altering hit. And Luke definitely knows what we have at WR, if he was unimpressed enough with UTs WR room, that at least speaks well of what we have.
Take it for what it's worth.
Looks like the smoke has shifted to TN completing the straight up trade to get Aguilar from UCLA
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
From Jeff Johnson's last blog post FWIW. https://jeffb59.substack.com/p/the-king-is-gone-but-hes-not-forgotten
Former Illinois star Josh McCray commits to SEC power
He’s heading down south.
www.thechampaignroom.com
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
The thing is though, these discussions have always been framed in a way that looks at the sit out year as a penalty for the player, and so that "penalty" got stripped away little by little in all the circumstances where there was outcry about players not "deserving" to be penalized.
That focus on the individual case lost sight of the broader way in which a system would operate and effect every player's relationship with their school whether they transferred on not.
The outcome we're seeking is not a perfect sorting of "good transfers" from "bad transfers". The outcome we're seeking is for the normal, typical college career to occur at one school, to reestablish that as the norm. That's the best thing for the sport, for the fans, and for the players themselves. Start from that outlook, not narrow litigation of individual cases.
Tennessee looked tough by moving on from Iamaleava, but it seems they didn't have the guy to just have him leave. Weird situation.
Love me some JJ stories....
Chuck Nuggets
Dip your nuggets in my staff source sauce.
I know absolutely nothing. Put me down as officially unworried. Firstly, I don't think Luke wants to leave a good situation for an unknown situation. Secondly, in Bert I trust.
Who knows what's going on behind the scenes, but Luke's representation would not be doing their job if they weren't trying to use this to squeeze another $500k (or whatever) out of some rich UI boosters. If the market is showing Luke is worth significantly more than what he's getting here, they are obligated to use that leverage as best they can.
Who knows what's going on behind the scenes, but Luke's representation would not be doing their job if they weren't trying to use this to squeeze another $500k (or whatever) out of some rich UI boosters. If the market is showing Luke is worth significantly more than what he's getting here, they are obligated to use that leverage as best they can.
And also you have to think that with NIL, a sit out year is just another opportunity to get paid. Because programs will still be competing for these guys. So in that way it's not necessarily punitive anymore.
The flip side is, does that create a perverse incentive to transfer precisely so you can sit out and extend your window of being able to make NIL in college?
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