(05-20-2022 11:24 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote: (05-20-2022 11:14 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote: Placing a dollar limit on an athlete is illegal.
Having scholarship limits or limits on how many players a booster club can provide money to is legal.
Scholarship limits are probably legal (and even if they aren't legal per se, roster limits that would have the same effect are almost certainly legal).
Restricting boosters is an open question, though. If challenged in court, the legal system could certainly say that whether someone is a booster or not is irrelevant: if there's a group (the NCAA) that collectively restricts otherwise legal economic activity from another group (boosters), that could conceivably be an antitrust violation.
I think this is right on point.
I must say, as an alum/fan of a private school program - one that, I guess, would be considered wealthy, has a top-35 academic reputation, and very good D1 facilities - I have no complaints about any of this.
My school has its own wealthy boosters and a number of its athletes are reportedly already making bank on this through the NIL.
Sure, the very "best of the best" athletes will probably, more often than not (although not always), go to the top programs in the Country, but that has already been the case. Except now the boosters of these programs will be at war with one another to up the ante for these prized athletes - which will, IMO, lead to all the predictable downstream affects.
Another thought. I would not be surprised if this proves to be very beneficial to a number of schools that might not have been initially in the running for a top athlete. Immediate playing time will be a valued premium in the recruiting process. The sooner you play, the sooner you could get paid!
I expect the Jimbo Fisher - Nick Saban type feuds will occur with increasingly regularity in the future. Someone grab the popcorn!
On a serious note, I expect absolute chaos for an indeterminate period of time until some kind of stability is restored. I have no idea what form that stability will take, but we shall see.
I also think that this will serve as a cautionary tale for any school contemplating a radical transformation of CFB. As the old saying goes:
"be careful what you wish for"