Chris Webber compares the NCAA to slavery

[Bush4Ever]

Underpays who? The athletes are getting free education, food, lodging and perks. The rest of the kids are paying tens of thousands of dollars for a lot less.

Is it perfect? No. Is creating a greater chasm in college closer to perfect?

Underpays guys like C-Webb relative to what would otherwise be their market value in a free market. It overpays other individuals, usually in smaller sports.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Underpays who? The athletes are getting free education, food, lodging and perks. The rest of the kids are paying tens of thousands of dollars for a lot less.

Is it perfect? No. Is creating a greater chasm in college closer to perfect?

Underpays guys like C-Webb relative to what would otherwise be their market value in a free market. It overpays other individuals, usually in smaller sports.

I know college sports is about making money.

I prefer to put my head in the sand and pretend it's about something more... like I did when I was much younger.

[Bush4Ever]

I know college sports is about making money.

I prefer to put my head in the sand and pretend it's about something more... like I did when I was much younger.

It is about making money. There is nothing wrong with that.

I just want the people producing the most value to make more. Breaking the monopoly would create a much closer association between pay and productivity.

Under the current system, there is a gross disconnect between the two.

[Robceltsfan]

The better athletes DO make more. They get to choose which high profile school they go to, which in turn gets them more visibility for their next job.

That's not "making more".

You can do all those things while paying athletes in accordance with their productivity and value. There is literally nothing contradictory about them.

This is all compounded by the fact that college athletics is absolutely not a free-market system. Without the regulations and use of force aided by the state, college athletics would absolutely not be able to pull the kind of crap that they do. The system has essentially placed a (near-total) forced choice on basketball and football players.

Lesser programs get lesser amounts of scholarships. And again, at the age of 18, 90%+ of these high-stock athletes are going to fuck up their lives more than help it.

By the way, what happens if said player underperforms to his pay expectation? Does he get a pay cut the following year? Are we going to sign contracts now with lawyers involved?


The only thing I'm even remotely open to considering is allowing players to MARKET THEMSELVES and make money on their own with their name. Blocking that is morally wrong, but they don't deserve to make a wage in college. They just don't.

[Bush4Ever]

Blocking that is morally wrong, but they don't deserve to make a wage in college. They just don't.

But the NCAA and universities deserve to make money off them for a dime on the dollar, with the additional benefit of allowing them to showcase themselves for a slot maybe 1/1000th of them will actually obtain (remembering they are all competing against each other for this spot)?

Okay.