Buffs - Coach Prime

[WindyCityGopher]

There is no labor cost. There is no labor.

There is NIL cost. It would be incorrect to call players labor. If they did it may even cost them a court case.

Not calling the athletes "labor" is legal semantics and nothing more. It's undeniable that there is now a meaningful cost to attracting a player to a school and keeping them there (beyond the scholarship) that did not exist 5 years ago, and it's creating an even larger chasm between the haves and have-nots. Sure, call athletes independent contractors as they're legally defined, but that doesn't dismiss the fact that the cost of retaining their services is real and growing. Even if that cost is borne by an outside entity like a NIL collective, does it really matter how it's defined if a school continually loses talent to the highest bidder? I'm sure coaches don't give a shit what the government and lawyers call the athletes they're losing to other programs, many just know they're at a decided disadvantage in a battle they're never going to win because they don't have the resources to compete.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

If the players are considered independent contractors for their NIL payments (a joke, really considering the tenets of the financial arrangements and requirements would get any other “employer” in very hot water - but then again who’s enforcing this anymore) that saves the schools a significant number in tax dollars. Look away.

 

[upnorthkid]

They’re spending over 13mil on coaches for that result. Deion’s salary was (prior to sitake reported raise) 2.5 mil higher than anyone else in conference.

No they absolutely didn’t need to pay that to get someone who’s a combined 16-21 and finished last or near it in 2 of his 3 seasons in conference

 

[Some guy]

Not calling the athletes "labor" is legal semantics and nothing more. It's undeniable that there is now a meaningful cost to attracting a player to a school and keeping them there (beyond the scholarship) that did not exist 5 years ago, and it's creating an even larger chasm between the haves and have-nots. Sure, call athletes independent contractors as they're legally defined, but that doesn't dismiss the fact that the cost of retaining their services is real and growing. Even if that cost is borne by an outside entity like a NIL collective, does it really matter how it's defined if a school continually loses talent to the highest bidder? I'm sure coaches don't give a shit what the government and lawyers call the athletes they're losing to other programs, many just know they're at a decided disadvantage in a battle they're never going to win because they don't have the resources to compete.

It’s literally not semantics.
By them not being employees they avoid a number of costs that are associated with them being labor