The back and forth on the other thread regarding players and NIL and players making money makes me want to post this…
NIL. Name. Image. Likeness.
I’ve followed SU sports (and college sports) a long time. Some might say since Moses was a linebacker.
A player’s Name is certainly his own. If Garrett Shrader wanted to get paid to show up at some charity event to sign autographs, I have no problem with it. What’s an autograph session worth? I have no idea? I know I’m not paying for a college kid’s autograph because it means nothing to me. He’s a kid. I have been asked for my autograph twice in my life. I gave it for free. If a video game wants to use Garrett Shrader’s name on the latest college football game, for a QB from Syracuse, I’m all for it. By all means, EA sports wants it to represent Shrader, so he should be compensated. So should SU, if they want to use SU’s name, uniform and players.
Image. If a college jock is used as a spokesperson for some company or other, I’m almost never impressed. Nearly all of these players make very poor spokespersons. I’ve hired actors, models, spokespersons before. And some of them were worth a lot of money. I once talked with Ron Jaworski who was trying to get me to hire him. I declined. 19 year old jocks with no acting or even public speaking training make poor representatives. But some people love seeing it. I guess I’m not one of those people.
If a kid appears on a billboard for Joe’s Used Cars, I think the kid should get paid. Personally, I would never buy a used car from a particular dealership just because they have some 19 year old jock on their billboard. But I know enough about advertising and marketing to know that’s not the question. The question is, does using the player’s image help cut through the clutter and get the ad noticed. Maybe it does.
The reality of NIL is that these kids are not, in fact, being paid for NIL. They’re being paid to play football or to play basketball. The NIL (wink, wink) system is just a way of putting money in their hands. It’s deceitful at best, and dishonest at worst.
If you want to make college athletes professionals, fine. Pay them to play football or basketball. But don’t pretend that they’re students. If you want students, start a college and don’t have an athletic program. If you want professional athletes, there are places you can go.
Someone said mine was a “Boomer View.” And it is. I’m old enough to remember when the educational opportunity was the goal. That is no longer the case. And we’re lying to them if you want to tell kids to “go out and get your $$$” oh, and you’re a student athlete.
I love seeing kids enroll at SU, get a degree, and move on to fulfilling lives. I only know the athletes. A kid who uses his athletic talents to get a big time education, knowing he will never earn a living playing the sport he loves, is the real success in my mind. I’ll take that kid’s autograph.
