UNC’s Mack Brown on College Football’s Current Model: ‘We’re the NFL’

[BleedGopher]

A bit ironic coming from Mack Brown...he and Brewster dropped some heavy money bags in their day as a dynamic duo:

per SI:

In his 50 years in the profession, Mack Brown has never coached in a professional football league.

But he now believes he may not have to leave the college ranks to get there.

“We’re the NFL. We’re the mini-NFL,” says the 71-year-old Brown, the oldest active FBS head coach who enters his fifth season of his second stint at North Carolina. “It’s just like the NFL. That’s where we are headed. We will never see amateurism again. It’s gone. I hate it. I thought that’s who we are, what college football is.

“Cheaters cheat. People who used to give inducements are still doing that. It’s just called NIL,” Brown says. “This stupid thing about it’s not pay-for-play. Why are they paying them? They’re not paying them for nothing. It is what it is. I wish we would stop hiding behind NIL.”

https://www.si.com/college/2023/04/13/unc-mack-brown-coach-football-on-nil-pay-for-play

Go Gophers!!

 

[metrolax]

And here's what will happen. College football will never "out-NFL the NFL". It will lose, and come in a distant second because that's the contest CFB chose. The sport forgot what got CFB where it is, what made it unique. The NFL would never be able to "out-CFB CFB". Now, CFB has just forfeited.

 

[Plato]

Doom and gloom from fans who do not believe "their" team can compete in the NIL era.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

And here's what will happen. College football will never "out-NFL the NFL". It will lose, and come in a distant second because that's the contest CFB chose. The sport forgot what got CFB where it is, what made it unique. The NFL would never be able to "out-CFB CFB". Now, CFB has just forfeited.

You realize the NFL crushes NCAAF in ratings…right? They were already ahead. I don’t know what “out CFB CFB” means but the nfl was and is the leader. At least since like 1972

 

[MNSpaniel]

Doom and gloom from fans who do not believe "their" team can compete in the NIL era.

Those of us who agree with coach Mack are sad because as the NIL/Portal concepts grows and erodes from what it was originally intended … so does the special feeling and loyalty people feel toward college sports and their school of choice. I lie somewhere between sad and disappointed by the whole movement.
As far as competing in the NIL world … In the long run the U of MN will probably be much like the Twins or Royals. Most years not wanting to pay the big contract but focusing on the developmental aspects of football .

 

[MNVCGUY]

i do like the fact that he is willing to call NIL what it really is at the highest level. It‘s pay-for-play being disguised weakly as something else.

 

[Unregistered User]

Mack Brown/North Carolina

That's all anyone needs to know. Two lifelong cheaters. Now he's pissed everyone can catch up to his tactics.

UNC should have lost their accreditation after offering faux classes to everyone.

It was a "student"/"athlete" dodge, clear as day. Clever, since it took it out of the realm of the NCAA.

A close buddy of mine has a student/athlete at UNC, and I have a tough time cheering for that team, as much as I like the family and the kid.

 

[Plato]

i do like the fact that he is willing to call NIL what it really is at the highest level. It‘s pay-for-play being disguised weakly as something else.

Pay-for-play is the phrase used to designate politicians who make corrupt decisions for their donors.
Now it seems it could be applied to SCOTUS judges too.
Players were paid in kind to play, now they are also paid in cash to play.
It is completely different than what the phrase originally described so it is and bad analogy.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Pay-for-play is the phrase used to designate politicians who make corrupt decisions for their donors.
Now it seems it could be applied to SCOTUS judges too.
Players were paid in kind to play, now they are also paid in cash to play.
It is completely different than what the phrase originally described so it is and bad analogy.

So what should we call it then, because it isn't NIL. Have heard many others refer to this current setup as pay-for-play as well.

 

[MNVCGUY]

That's all anyone needs to know. Two lifelong cheaters. Now he's pissed everyone can catch up to his tactics.

UNC should have lost their accreditation after offering faux classes to everyone.

It was a "student"/"athlete" dodge, clear as day. Clever, since it took it out of the realm of the NCAA.

A close buddy of mine has a student/athlete at UNC, and I have a tough time cheering for that team, as much as I like the family and the kid.

This definitely applies to UNC basketball but UNC football has not been a power program.

 

[Plato]

So what should we call it then, because it isn't NIL. Have heard many others refer to this current setup as pay-for-play as well.

The fact that "many others refer to it..." does not make it accurate.
It should be something like, players deciding WHERE to play based on NIL is corrupting college sports.
That might be true.

 

[MNVCGUY]

The fact that "many others refer to it..." does not make it accurate.
It should be something like, players deciding WHERE to play based on NIL is corrupting college sports.
That might be true.

That's the whole point though. They aren't making decisions based on NIL, they are making decisions on something else that is being called NIL but isn't. So if it can't be called Pay for Play then what should it be called?

NIL is a legit thing that should have been around for a long time in college sports. What is going on right now in basketball and football is not NIL in many cases.

 

[#2Gopher]

Some people think that NIL will blow over. I'm in the camp that believe it will never blow over. Pretty sad in my opinion.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Some people think that NIL will blow over. I'm in the camp that believe it will never blow over. Pretty sad in my opinion.

I think blow over intimates something that is not going to happen. I definitely think NIL will peak and then settle back as boosters either lose big $$ on prospects who go bust or decide to transfer, or don't see the results they were hoping to see.

 

[mngolf]

And here's what will happen. College football will never "out-NFL the NFL". It will lose, and come in a distant second because that's the contest CFB chose. The sport forgot what got CFB where it is, what made it unique. The NFL would never be able to "out-CFB CFB". Now, CFB has just forfeited.

They're not exactly competing. However, CFB has followed the NFL playbook and it has gotten them to be better than MLB, NHL, MLS. And CFB is probably fine with that.