Well, I finally joined Dinkytown Athletes - whose with me, and whose already here?

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SeaBee_Gopher said:
Wow! I'm surprised by the lack of nastiness going on in this post. Just people that have different opinions weighing in. Where did all the crazies go? I mean besides the ones in Congress!:)

As I see it, there are two pretty clear sides to this argument:

1) Why contribute to a broken system with plenty of TV money already that just isn't giving it to the people that deserve it the most, the players?

2) It is the way it is. Yes, the system may be broken, but I can still help the players and my team right now by contributing to NIL and, if I don't, the Gopher product will certainly get worse competitively in the short term.

I am in camp #1, but really appreciate those of you in camp #2. You're improving the product on the field right now that I also get to enjoy. I hope by supporting NIL, you're not just helping major college football kick the problem down the road. They just keep figuring out new ways to soak people for more money for the same product! Welcome to capitalism I guess. On the other hand, I hope I'm not just being cheap!!!

I think many of you NIL supporters are likely our Gopher super fans. This team is really important to you and you put your money where your heart is. Makes sense to me and, as one of you said, it's still a bargain when compared to most alternative pro sports entertainment options. Damn the college football marketing folks that have figured this out! It makes me feel more like a casual fan. I watch a ton of college football on TV and attend Gopher tailgates and football games occasionally. I'm getting more into Gopher football mostly because I like the fun connection to my alma mater and the community which includes you all so thank you for that.

Hopefully, I didn't offend anyone/everyone with this post. I don't think there is a wrong or right here, it's just opinion and your unique set of values.
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You have a talent for synthesizing information my friend. I really do think that breakdown cuts to the heart of it for me.

I'm in camp 2 - I don't think it's fair, I don't like it, but I care so much about wanting a solid competitive product, that I'm willing to make a meager contribution. I'm considering NIL to be a new loathsome fee. That said, I am no daddy warbucks and I am looking for a return on investment from Fleck and company. There is a time stamp on how long I will wait.

Nothing talks like money, man - we've placed profit ahead of all else in every other walk of life so this is just more of the same for me.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
uuNCAA athletics are self-governing and the dominant philosophy has been to maintain the amateur status of players. If you are going to allow players to be paid for playing, then you're headed into an arms race that many schools (including possibly the U of M) won't be able to survive. You have to develop some sort of system for compliance. A starting point is to place the burden on players and schools to report NIL payments, why they were given, who gave them, and the basis for determining the fair value of the services.

$2,000 for signing a football may not be unreasonable depending upon the status of the player and I don't think a governing organization would be too concerned about sweating the difference between $1,000 and $2,000.
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it really doesn't matter how much one is willing to pay for the signed football, just that beforeNIL, the player wasn't allowed to pocket a single dime out of the transaction. the collective at least now provides an avenue for the player to shop his signed stuf or other merchandise and get paid for it
 

I've been a member, and thanks to those of you who joined. I'm not doing much, but everyone doing a little bit helps.
 

If one of your favorite Gopher football players asked you to buy them a steak dinner, would you probably do it? To me NIL is in that concept. Sure, I don' get to sit and ask them dumb questions while I enjoy their company while having a dinner, but if I get to watch them play 12 more games as a Gopher, I'm okay with that.

It helped keep Nubin here evidently and will help with others.

I think once we have a player, we don't have to out-bid to keep them. In the Bucky Irving situation, Oregon came with a lot, and we didn't have much of any at that point. If we had maybe a third or a half, maybe that's enough to keep a player here versus go into the unknown.
 

MNfootballfan said:
I have a dumb question... I think we can all agree what NIL is supposed to represent is 100% different than what it actually is, but what would my donation go to? Does it just go into a big bank that gets drawn from? Who decides who gets the money and how much?

I get the spirit of the rule is Athan Kalikmanis can sell 8x10s of himself and autograph them and make a few dollars all the way up to Caleb Williams signing a deal with Wendy's, but they are 'working' for their money.

Don't take this the wrong way, I am not against Dinkytown Athletes and what they are doing. I am guessing all of us on GopherHole are known as the "Gopher Guy" in their social circle and I had a friend ask me last weekend how it works... does he just write a check to Dinkytown Athletes and it goes to Darius Taylor. It made me realize I had no idea how the process works.
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If no one else answered...

If you make a donation, it goes to DTA (the collective). You can donate to general U of M sports, or specify which one.

The collective collects the money, and they choose how to spend it based on your preferences. They decide which athletes get it and how much. Minnesota does not use it for recruiting, but instead to hopefully keep their players from leaving for NFL or transferring.

It's like the facility arms race. You don't have to be the top bidder, but you need a indoor training field and a nice weight room and other amenities just like you need to provide some NIL, even if it doesn't match the highest offers.

Yes. I agree. The colleges should just pay the athletes, but cash in McDonald's bags just went to NIL instead. It's not new, just different.


People have believed that this is bad for Minnesota, but we have a top 15 population center and only 1 P5 team in this state. If we can keep finding deals like the early partnerships we have, that's a good thing. The more creative deals we get through people purchasing products and services, that better it will be. If we can establish a base of people that's equivalent to buying a athlete a Jimmy John's sub once a month, it's a little easier to stomach.

Also, the money goes to the player, not the University.
Yes, the University should pay for their own players, but NIL won't disappear when that happens, the importance of it just might decrease a bit for some but it will still be a benefit for those who want to capitalize on it, and Minnesota is actually in a unique spot if people get on board being a big population center with a small number of D1 football schools.
 


2nd Degree Gopher said:
I share your concern with where this is all headed, but I believe that Kavanaugh and a majority of the rest of the Supremes are ready and waiting for any argument that is based on the premise that the NCAA can justify preserving the "amateur status" of the student-athletes because it's always been that way or because that, if you don't, Local U might night be able to keep up. Those types of frameworks can survive when they are collectively bargained, not so much when they are imposed by one side on the other.

You still haven't answered the how? (And I don't really blame you because I don't think that there is a good answer.) You dodged my questions about value by dismissing the significance of the difference between $1,000 and $2,000. What if it was the difference between $1,000 and $5,000 (or whatever number makes you start to feel icky)? Or what if it wasn't one football, but 100 or 1,000? Finally, isn't the best determination for the fair market value of a non-fungible item like a signed football or a personal appearance the amount that a willing buyer and a willing seller agree upon?
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Your first paragraph poses fascinating questions. I'll admit that I haven't thought out these questions fully and have always assumed that there was a legitimate interest in keeping college athletics amateur.

You're right. I did dodge your question and it was a good one. I'll just respond to your words.

"What if it was the difference between $1,000 and $5,000 (or whatever number makes you start to feel icky)"

I could see situations where $5,000 (or even more) for signing a football is reasonable. Some college athletes are celebrities (although not that many). But, there are a limited amount of people willing and able to pay this amount. I'm more concerned with the possible situation of a wealthy booster who pays a player $2,000 per ball to sign 100 balls. Then, that person gives them away fairly indiscriminately. Of course, I'm saying this as someone who still believes in the value of amateur status.
 

SeaBee_Gopher said:
I can't get myself to contribute to NIL directly yet, but I will buy some Duck Duck Beer to try it out. I've got to give it to the NIL marketing folks. They are creative! It might be inevitable that they get me one way or another.
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Where does one buy Duck Duck Beer?
 

Anybody know what happened to Twin Cities NIL Club?
 





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