Portal is a sheet show

[Blanko97]

It’s a complete joke. The fact this situation exists is a testament to lack of good leadership in the NCAA (amongst other things).

I think it’s exactly the leadership the big schools wanted, so the NCAA did its job admirably in the eyes of those who matter

 

[orangetrain]

Most of these kids in the whole football portal are leaving because of bad advice of the agents or so called agents. Chasing the dollar thinking their worth is more than their coaches. The way the current portal is, will become a much smaller pool once a few hundred players don’t have a place to play after this portal ends. Then after spring practice another group will decide their new school isn’t for them and vice versa. I think that since there is only one portal now, players can only transfer again of they sit out a year.
It will settle down eventually.
In the case of Cuse, most have been asked to leave. This is how most other programs are run now. Look at the numbers.
Our NIL money will be an issue very soon, unless businesses step up and sign players to deals or individuals donate to the SU collective.
Unfortunately in today’s game, you get what you pay for.

 

[Hawknate144]

Most of these kids in the whole football portal are leaving because of bad advice of the agents or so called agents. Chasing the dollar thinking their worth is more than their coaches. The way the current portal is, will become a much smaller pool once a few hundred players don’t have a place to play after this portal ends. Then after spring practice another group will decide their new school isn’t for them and vice versa. I think that since there is only one portal now, players can only transfer again of they sit out a year.
It will settle down eventually.
In the case of Cuse, most have been asked to leave. This is how most other programs are run now. Look at the numbers.
Our NIL money will be an issue very soon, unless businesses step up and sign players to deals or individuals donate to the SU collective.
Unfortunately in today’s game, you get what you pay for.

No more spring portal, this is the only window

 

[PhatOrange]

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ted-cruz-unloads-state-college-football-programs-get-decimated-transfer-portal-absolute-crisis

 

[HRE Otto IV]

No more spring portal, this is the only window

Until there is an injunction after Spring practice.

 

[orangetrain]

Agree there is only one portal now, but i believe you can still transfer however need they will have to sit out the fall season.

 

[JKinUtah]

Chasing the dollar thinking their worth is more than their coaches.

One could easily argue it is. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a game just to watch a coach do his thing, but I’ve certainly tuned in to watch certain players.

 

[orangetrain]

You misunderstood. Many players and agents think they are worth more than their coaches think their worth is.

 

[wfschrec]

Speaking of Portal and former Cuse guys ... Leon Lowry Jr just recovered a fumble for Illinois in the bowl game vs Tennessee

 

[Moontan]

This is actually one of the scenarios I’ve always thought should be allowed. If a coach leaves a school, players that went to that school to play for that coach shouldn’t be stuck there and allowed to leave as well without any penalties (e.g. sitting out a year under the old transfer rules).

I'm in favor of one free transfer as well as when your coach leaves.
Anything beyond that should require a 1 year sitting out period.

When they do the sitting out transfer, they can spend that time with the team and trainers as well as receive NIL.

 

[DomeHolmes]

yup. the percentage of revenue from college sports dedicated to the players is still a fraction of what it is for professional leagues. There are fair reasons why but nobody likes to talk about the explicit benefits of the current system -- that is football and basketball subsidize a bunch of non rev sports. At some point, football and basketball just need to break away and be their own thing.

You alluded to there being fair reasons why college players get a fraction of the revenue the pros get. This is true. And revenue vs profit is the key.

The biggest reason by far is the average pro team gets $450 million annually from their TV revenue where the average power 4 team gets perhaps $50 million. (Also a few extra home games).

So no pro football teams ever lose money even if they don’t have big crowds. Conversely, only 30 or so of 134 college programs actually turn any profit.

So most college players actually get a higher share of the PROFIT than pros, but a lower share of the revenue.

 

[qdawgg]

Any washed up nfl players Fran should be looking at?

Didn’t Kelce just retire and we need a TE

 

[richmondcuse03]

You alluded to there being fair reasons why college players get a fraction of the revenue the pros get. This is true. And revenue vs profit is the key.

The biggest reason by far is the average pro team gets $450 million annually from their TV revenue where the average power 4 team gets perhaps $50 million. (Also a few extra home games).

So no pro football teams ever lose money even if they don’t have big crowds. Conversely, only 30 or so of 134 college programs actually turn any profit.

So most college players actually get a higher share of the PROFIT than pros, but a lower share of the revenue.

Where did you get the 30 out of 134 college programs turn any profit? That’s just for football?

 

[orangmannc1]

Thought this is insane. I am at the point that College football has become a hot mess.

College football transfer portal prices: Position‑by‑position ranges surge

A compressed Jan. 2–16 window is fueling fast moves and bigger deals. Here's what each position costs this cycle

www.cbssports.com

 

[orangezen]

There are several sides to players entering the portal . One is players let go and asked to leave . Next is players definitely leaving and have offers and $ set. . Lastly players putting foot in water to see who offers and then choosing to withdraw if nothing better than current team allows then to stay.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

What is larger number of players in the portal or inches of snow recorded at Hancock Airport?! Hope you guys are doing well up there in CNY!

 

[orangemass]

What is larger number of players in the portal or inches of snow recorded at Hancock Airport?! Hope you guys are doing well up there in CNY!

I think someone is exaggerating their inches on this board.

 

[xc84]

I can only speak for myself but here goes…

I have been an SU football fan since the days of Joe Morris and Art Monk. I have continually had season tickets since ‘92. I re-upped for 2026 but I really struggled with the decision. Sure, 2025 was awful but the main reason for the struggle is that I just don’t know the players because they are hired guns with no loyalty to the school. Not saying it’s their fault but for me, I liked that college sports offered the opportunity to get a degree. I liked watching players grow from freshman to senior years. Seemed like we really got to know them and care about them. That aspect is gone and I am no longer even sure why I should care anymore.

 

[GoSU96]

This is where how good at money ball you are makes a huge difference.

Very few teams are buying a roster of high priced former 5s.

 

[richmondcuse03]

I can only speak for myself but here goes…

I have been an SU football fan since the days of Joe Morris and Art Monk. I have continually had season tickets since ‘92. I re-upped for 2026 but I really struggled with the decision. Sure, 2025 was awful but the main reason for the struggle is that I just don’t know the players because they are hired guns with no loyalty to the school. Not saying it’s their fault but for me, I liked that college sports offered the opportunity to get a degree. I liked watching players grow from freshman to senior years. Seemed like we really got to know them and care about them. That aspect is gone and I am no longer even sure why I should care anymore.

Root for the team, not the individual. Syr football is also an incredible bargain at the p4 level. Still high level college football and the only top tier program in the state. Need loyal folks like you to stay part of the crew! Get it's tough without identifying the kids, but you can still rep the program.

 

[DomeHolmes]

Where did you get the 30 out of 134 college programs turn any profit? That’s just for football?

That is for their entire athletic departments. If you look at football only, it might be 50. You would be hard pressed to find one G5 program whose football team is profitable. Of the power five teams, you still have overextended teams like Rutgers who lose $80 million a year despite getting $50 million of tv revenue. The players and or the success of the teams doesn’t move the needle nearly as much as the TV dollars.

If we were 9-3 again this year and sold 30,000 more tickets at $70 apiece, that’s still only $2 million more revenue. A drop in the bucket compared with what your TV contract pays you, whether you’re great or whether you suck.

Essentially with “profit sharing“ we are going to pay $20.5 million to the players for the hope that we have a great season that increases our ticket sales by $2 million.

Calling, what’s going on “profit-sharing” is joke. The majority of the teams are going further into debt than they already are in order to “profit share”.

 

[richmondcuse03]

That is for their entire athletic departments. If you look at football only, it might be 50. You would be hard pressed to find one G5 program whose football team is profitable. Of the power five teams, you still have overextended teams like Rutgers who lose $80 million a year despite getting $50 million of tv revenue. The players and or the success of the teams doesn’t move the needle nearly as much as the TV dollars.

If we were 9-3 again this year and sold 30,000 more tickets at $70 apiece, that’s still only $2 million more revenue. A drop in the bucket compared with what your TV contract pays you, whether you’re great or whether you suck.

Essentially with “profit sharing“ we are going to pay $20.5 million to the players for the hope that we have a great season that increases our ticket sales by $2 million.

Calling, what’s going on “profit-sharing” is joke. The majority of the teams are going further into debt than they already are in order to “profit share”.

Agree the whole thing is devoid of true profit metrics and hard to evaluate compared to other sports.

The accounting of most ADs is questionable at best. It’s in part dependent on scholarship costs vs true costs. And it’s inflated because of non rev sports. You also have debt service costs that some schools account for that others probably don’t. Then you have donors subsidizing some of the “profit sharing” on top of it. And then the public universities with student fees baked in and other pieces that conflate the numbers.

I’d love to see the actual cash flow of ADs vs the accounting statements. Anyone can make a business look bad for accounting reasons, especially a massive university.

Really should stop pretending the scholarships are a cost or a thing for the top 60 programs (or whatever the number is) and then let the student model exist for everyone else.

 

[DomeHolmes]

Agree the whole thing is devoid of true profit metrics and hard to evaluate compared to other sports.

The accounting of most ADs is questionable at best. It’s in part dependent on scholarship costs vs true costs. And it’s inflated because of non rev sports. You also have debt service costs that some schools account for that others probably don’t. Then you have donors subsidizing some of the “profit sharing” on top of it. And then the public universities with student fees baked in and other pieces that conflate the numbers.

I’d love to see the actual cash flow of ADs vs the accounting statements. Anyone can make a business look bad for accounting reasons, especially a massive university.

Really should stop pretending the scholarships are a cost or a thing for the top 60 programs (or whatever the number is) and then let the student model exist for everyone else.

You basically hit all of the ridiculousness of the accounting. Some schools would argue that if they have 50,000 students pay $300 student fees that that $15 million that goes to athletics is “revenue”. Others would accurately argue that it’s really a subsidy. And that is a big part of how the gap is closed at a lot of schools. So they might show that they are breaking even but it’s only because of student fees.

On the other end of the spectrum, schools like Ohio State and Alabama could turn a much larger profit than they do, but they spend every dime that they bring in because, why not? Their goal is not to turn a profit, but to maximize all their advantages.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The fanbases for the top teams (SEC, BIG) will continue to pack stadiums as they will continue to reap the benefits of the transfer portal and be competitive.

The rest of us? Mainly apathy from the fans. The split will come soon. The leftover teams can try to form something like college football used to be but how do you stop poaching of your best players? It will be a minor league to whatever super league the SEC/BIG becomes.

Yeah, we're witnessing the beginning of the end.
With no limit on NIL private money, it's going to be insanely expensive to try to compete for championships within the next couple years. This sport is pretty much ruined. Bowls mean nothing. Conferences make no sense. TV consolidation will only make it worse.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Local news says we've had 27 guys enter the portal so far. That's 1/3 of the roster.
That's on top of 23 guys the year before.
I'm sorry, but that's too many.

The last couple years, we've found maybe 6-10 difference makers / two-deep level players each year. That's not enough. We need like 15 difference makers when the portal opens, and even then, we will not have very much depth.