So the blinders are off

[40bill]

Even the most die hard daydreamer of us that wax poetic about the 'good old days' have to admit that even a little part of that is officially gone. No more winking at the special benefits athletes get...cars, spending money, free steak dinners...it's all official now.

'College athletics" is officially in the late Rick Telandars words 'age appropriate professional sports.' Not more or less. Likely should have been that 30 years or more ago.

This will sooner or later open up further doors: taxation of player salaries, unionization and sooner or later collective bargaining. Salary caps, long term (3 year) contracts...and more.
It's gonna happen.

Along with the fact that the rich will get richer. D2 AND D3 schools will be de facto feeder programs...which they generally are.

So....I guess it just comes down to I love Kentucky sports....they are my favorite pro teams.

Can't say if it's gonna be good or bad. Just is what it is.

[KCKUKFan]

The good old days have been gone for the better part of a decade, for better or worse.

[George]

As long as there are good basketball players dressed in Kentucky uniforms and competing for national championships, I couldn’t care less.

I get the “purity” angle, but it stopped doing anything for me a long time ago. That’s just “old man screaming at clouds” material at this point.

[Matt Dillon]

Even the most die hard daydreamer of us that wax poetic about the 'good old days' have to admit that even a little part of that is officially gone. No more winking at the special benefits athletes get...cars, spending money, free steak dinners...it's all official now.

'College athletics" is officially in the late Rick Telandars words 'age appropriate professional sports.' Not more or less. Likely should have been that 30 years or more ago.

This will sooner or later open up further doors: taxation of player salaries, unionization and sooner or later collective bargaining. Salary caps, long term (3 year) contracts...and more.
It's gonna happen.

Along with the fact that the rich will get richer. D2 AND D3 schools will be de facto feeder programs...which they generally are.

So....I guess it just comes down to I love Kentucky sports....they are my favorite pro teams.

Can't say if it's gonna be good or bad. Just is what it is.

From one old fellow to another well-said, Bill.

[teamchemistry15]

As long as there are good basketball players dressed in Kentucky uniforms and competing for national championships, I couldn’t care less.

I get the “purity” angle, but it stopped doing anything for me a long time ago. That’s just “old man screaming at clouds” material at this point.

Agreed. It has been crooked since before Bill Walton claimed he took a pay cut when he went pro. Luckily for us, we have one of the greatest programs in the sport and the money to pour in, so we will be just fine. Kentucky is playing by the rules and bringing in top talent, as we should be.

[Joneslab]

I'm often reminded of my dad's (who wasn't a young man) comment when news came out that Kentucky paid Anthony Davis $100k: "Well, he deserved way more than that."

[40bill]

The other fact is that the money being spoken of in the revenue sharing is far less than the numbers that have been thrown out in NIL.

Proposed numbers are 20 mill per school (perhaps up to 33 mil in ten years).
75 % of that to football divided by a hundred players is about 150 thousand pee player.
15% divided by 15 basketball players is 200 thousand per player.

This is in addition to scholarship and apart from NIL.

So it's still the wild wild west boys and girls. Just a little more poker money thrown in.

[EKYCat]

I don't know how true it is, but I read Cooper Flagg raked in somewhere near $30MM last year. This is the way it's been now for quite some time and it's not going away. Get on board or get left.

[40bill]

Lol.....well, if that bothers you guys....remember there is a Big East that won't be funding football.

Give that a couple years and see how 'balance' goes.

[Pobilly]

I don't know how true it is, but I read Cooper Flagg raked in somewhere near $30MM last year. This is the way it's been now for quite some time and it's not going away. Get on board or get left.

28 from an NIL shoe deal alone.

[justford]

28 from an NIL shoe deal alone.

How much will his NBA salary be?

[Spiritof96]

The "good ole days" of "impermissible benefits" rules used to trip good people up on the dumbest stuff and let egregious cheating go unpunished. I'm glad they are gone, and I'm glad the curtain is pulled back on the pay-for-play that always went on. So long as we win, I don't care about the money.

I don't like the volatility of the transfer portal, but I don't see a solution.

[Pobilly]

How much will his NBA salary be?

four-year, $62.7 million rookie contract plus his shoe / other contracts he will sign.

[BJD]

These are the good ole days!!