How To Fix College Football

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Bob_Loblaw said:
I think this is coming. Justin Fields could make more money in college football next season than he would get in the NFL and I agree that it would drastically reduce the cost of freshman players, but I am not sure it would reduce the cost of players - generally.

That said, the long game, it might kill college football. It will make it seem more and more like a minor league to the NFL.
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It was set up so that you had enough time to earn a bachelor's degree.

I just can't see myself continuing to tune into college football if it's a bunch of NFL has been's or never was's, who could've earned two bachelor's in the time they've been playing in college.
 

GopherGrit said:
Bold: the reason is the same true reason as it is in any professional league, which is that at the end of the day the owners hold all the power.

The owners can always, at any time say: "look players, if you want to have this professional league to play in, and make your money ... then you have to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with us (the owners), or else we will shut the league down. We hold the keys, you're just the inmates."


That's really not that different in college. The schools are the owners. They hold the keys. And to be quite frank, the schools themselves don't actually "make" or see much of any money on college athletics. Even (and perhaps especially nowadays) at the top level ... every dollar that comes in, goes right back out the door. Not kicked over to the school. And probably then some, now ..

Then you can try the argument of "but it brings in more donations!", but that doesn't work for me either. I say, almost all of the "extra" (how do you prove it? Ask the donor "oh hey, if we didn't have athletics, would you have withheld your donation?? Just askin!") donations ... are for athletics! Not for school stuff. I doubt many go "I had such a good time at Gopher football as an undergrad ... have a new library!" And then the stuff actually for school, would've been given anyway.



So, that's how you can force the players to collectively bargain with the schools (or conferences if that works better legally). Schools, at any time, can say "you know ... this whole varsity athletics thing .... it doesn't really help us be a better school that much ... we don't really need it".
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They could. But they won’t. So that’s a pretty lame bluff
 

GopherGrit said:
It was set up so that you had enough time to earn a bachelor's degree.

I just can't see myself continuing to tune into college football if it's a bunch of NFL has been's or never was's, who could've earned two bachelor's in the time they've been playing in college.
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Agree

Same reason I don’t watch the G league even thought 99% of them would beat 99% of college teams
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think this is coming. Justin Fields could make more money in college football next season than he would get in the NFL and I agree that it would drastically reduce the cost of freshman players, but I am not sure it would reduce the cost of players - generally.

That said, the long game, it might kill college football. It will make it seem more and more like a minor league to the NFL.
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Walk me through this...
 



disco said:
There's no salary cap in college football, and there's a very real chance that if anyone challenged years of eligibility requirements in court that they'd win.
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The NCAA has won multiple victories recently in court on challenges to eligibility rules. I don't think it's as slam dunk as you're describing here.
 



Some guy said:
They could. But they won’t. So that’s a pretty lame bluff
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Hopefully such a bluff wouldn't be needed.

In fact, college players could stand to make even more money than they make now if they play ball on collective bargaining.
 



TXGopher09 said:
How do we fix college football?
Proposed conferences
SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi St, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Memphis, Tulane
BIG 10: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan St, Minnesota, Ohio St., Penn St., Purdue, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Notre Dame.
SWC: Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, TTU, OKST, UNT, UTSA, Rice
Big 8: Colorado, Iowa St., Kansas, Kansas St., Missouri, Nebraska, Utah, BYU
ACC: Clemson, Duke, Florida St., Georgia Tech, Miami, NCST, UNC, Virginia, Wake Forest, South Carolina, UCF, USF
PAC-12: Arizona, ASU, Cal, Oregon, Oregon St, USC, UCLA, Washington, WAZZU, UNLV, Boise St., Fresno St., SDSU, New Mexico
BIG East: Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers, Syracuse, Maryland, UConn, VA Tech, West Virginia,
MW: Nevada, SJSU, Hawai'i, NMST, Air Force, Colorado St., UTEP, Wyoming, NDSU, Montana St., Montana, Idaho, South Dakota St., Utah St.
Sun Belt: FAU, FIU, GASO, Troy, USA, Southern Miss, UAB, Jacksonville St., LA Tech, ULM, Louisiana, Kennesaw St.
Appalachian Athletic Conference: CCU, ECU, Charlotte, Appalachian St., ODU, Liberty, JMU, Georgia St., Delaware, Navy, Temple, Army.
CUSA- MTSU, WKU, SHSU, Texas St., Arkansas St., Missouri St., Marshall, Tulsa,
We're getting rid of UMASS.
Next up, NIL is limited to SPONSORSHIP'S. No athlete can get sponsorship's until their freshman year is over. Schools can't pay NIL unless if the kid walks on and can only make a max of $350,000 dollars if they walk on to get paid. If NIL is continued, there is a salary cap and money an only come from donors and not taxpayer dollars.
We're cutting bowl games. Fenway Bowl, Mayo Bowl, Snoop Dogg Bowl (sorry Snoop), XBox Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl, LA Bowl, Frisco Bowl, Salute to Veterans (I don't hate veterans but the bowl is useless), Pinstripe Bowl, and New Mexico Bowl.
I'll add a few back like the Bluebonnet Bowl, San Francisco Bowl, and Hall of Fame Classic.
Rename a few: Outback Bowl, Copper or Cactus Bowl, Sunshine Classic, Queen City Bowl.
Playoffs: 8 teams. The quarterfinals will include the Citrus/Sun bowl, Peach Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl. Semis will be Cotton and Sugar, the Championship will be the Rose Bowl. SEC, BIG 10, SWC, BIG 8, ACC, and PAC-12 are all guaranteed one spot to the winner of the conference. No conference championships except for the final spot between the lesser conferences. Point differential, SOS, and regular season record are all factored in to the choosing of the contender. It will be up to a computer to decide who goes so there is no complaint about human (SEC) bias possible.
I don't believe this is everything yet as I have not covered TV deals and FORCED non-con rivalries that have existed for over 2+ decades or literal proximity. No equity deals are allowed either.
12/11/2025
Transfer Portal: Players are allotted one free transfer out and can only transfer an extra time if their coach gets fired or hired away.
Forced Non-Con rivalries: Tri State Big 3. Beehive Boot. Virginia and Virginia Tech continue the Commonwealth Cup. VA Tech, Virginia, and West Virginia play for the Blue Ridge Trophy. Arkansas LSU and Boot Trophy. Cincinnati Miami (OH) and the Victory Bell. The Battle Line Rivalry, Arkansas Missouri. The Fremont Cannon. Black and Blue Bowl. Clemson Georgia Tech. The Victory Barrel. I-35 Rivalry. Illinois Missouri. Cy-Hawk Trophy. The Bourbon Barrel. Governor's Cup. Missouri Oklahoma. Nebraska Oklahoma. OKST Tulsa. Rocky Mountain Showdown. Techno Bowl.
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Second football for more explosive plays and a nine point score.
 

GopherGrit said:
Ummm ... my dude, the Third Circuit ruled in favor of the NCAA in their appeal of the lower court injunction in Elad v NCAA ....
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They sent it back for further litigation on a technicality, ie the relevant market was not defined which is required in antitrust cases. So, the player (and others in similar cases) could still win eligibility if they can prove the 4 year rule is an unreasonable restraint of trade.

Is it? If a student were granted 5,6,7 years of eligibility - as long as an enrolled student - does that harm the college football product? Applying the PE common sense rule I’d say no….but I’m open to arguments otherwise. If proven veterans had access to ongoing “employment” and NIL the costs would definitely rise even higher as their services get bid up versus bringing on unproven high school kids with less or zero compensation leverage that are just happy to be there and get a shot.

If, say, using an entirely made up and ludicrous example if Sanford Health conspired with other upper Midwest health systems to kick out, not rehire senior physicians or nurses after ten years employment in favor of new grads at half the compensation would that pass muster?
 

PMWinSTP said:
Walk me through this...
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Other than what have been determined as arbitrary NCAA rules that been typically seen as unreasonable restraints on trade, what is stopping Justin Fields from returning to college?

They are all professionals now, what is stopping someone from pursuing more money in a different league?
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Other than what have been determined as arbitrary NCAA rules that been typically seen as unreasonable restraints on trade, what is stopping Justin Fields from returning to college?

They are all professionals now, what is stopping someone from pursuing more money in a different league?
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yep. i'm actually pretty surprised no player has tried to challenge it on these grounds yet. NCAA hockey has allowed pro players this year, including those that had signed pro contracts.

On the fixing it side, the faster we get to a CBA, the better imo
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
Other than what have been determined as arbitrary NCAA rules that been typically seen as unreasonable restraints on trade, what is stopping Justin Fields from returning to college?

They are all professionals now, what is stopping someone from pursuing more money in a different league?
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You think he could make more money playing for a college team? That's the part I wanted you to walk me through.
 

PMWinSTP said:
You think he could make more money playing for a college team? That's the part I wanted you to walk me through.
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If someone is willing to give him the cash, yes. There's no cap in college football, at least yet.
There are a number of guys making way more in college than they would as an NFL rookie.
 

PMWinSTP said:
You think he could make more money playing for a college team? That's the part I wanted you to walk me through.
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disco said:
If someone is willing to give him the cash, yes. There's no cap in college football, at least yet.
There are a number of guys making way more in college than they would as an NFL rookie.
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In case anyone is interested, Fields signed a 2 year, $40 million contract last year to play for the Jets. $30 million guaranteed.
 

disco said:
If someone is willing to give him the cash, yes. There's no cap in college football, at least yet.
There are a number of guys making way more in college than they would as an NFL rookie.
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NFL first round picks get a 4 year guaranteed contract and team option for a 5th year.
Pretty much everyone drafted in first 5 rounds makes $4-$5Million with contract and signing bonus. There aren't many college players making that over the same time frame. College is pretty much year to year.

Now if a player left early and flamed out in the NFL and they wanted to go back to school, I don't see why they shouldn't be able to. Fields is an example as he redshirted and had COVID year. Argument could be made that he has 3 years of eligibility left. However his is making $40 Million over the next two seasons, so he isn't walking away from that.
 

disco said:
If someone is willing to give him the cash, yes. There's no cap in college football, at least yet.
There are a number of guys making way more in college than they would as an NFL rookie.
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yup, particularly the young/borderline draftable guys. think the bigger question will become why am i restricted to 5 years if I'm a college student followed by the why do I need to be a college student at all? Lots of young guys on small deals who would make way more in college (DJ Uiagalelei, Ewers, Sanders, Gabriel all would be making more, as would probably pretty much any of the QBs on rookie deals or lesser given someone like Bryce Underwood is supposedly making 2.5mil)

Fields however is a terrible example given he's making 20mil/year
 

PMWinSTP said:
You think he could make more money playing for a college team? That's the part I wanted you to walk me through.
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Carson Beck made $4M from Miami last year and Arch is between $5.5M-$7M.

How much do you think Miami would pay for Justin Fields? Fields might not be the best example because maybe someone gives him another shot and maybe he'd take less to try to get another QB1 opportunity. That said, I think the Hurricanes would pay him more next year than the Dolphins would.
 

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