Football Bowl Opt Outs might be coming to an end

[Richie O]

 

[The Spin Meister]

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About time. For a business paying lots of money to a player the bowl game, with its long pregame and national exposure, is a huge part of the value of the deal.

I can see contracts with a substantial percentage paid after the bowl game or one with a bowl game bonus.

Then the players can decide if the money is worth the risk.

 

[Obliviax]

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That is interesting. You can't make an employee work if he/she doesn't want to. You can only stop paying them. So the NIL contracts will have some kind of penalty or non-payment is the kid doesn't play in a bowl? So what happens if he "springs his knee" in practice or "tweaks his shoulder"? And, of course, the coach doesn't have to play him. Can a kid go to a coach and say "I don't want to play so don't put me in"? Then it would go down as "coaches decision".

I love the concept, of course, but there will still be opt outs, IMHO.

 

[91Joe95]

ESPN.com: GEN - Bell puts Pirates on alert for 'Operation Shutdown'

 

[Jerry]

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Yup, this is directly related to and offers further support for the revenue-sharing concept now under active discussion as outlined in the thread that I posted here on Tuesday:

>>...the plan does not envision "killing" NIL but rather incorporating it into a new "model" where as part of the aforementioned $20 million per year, schools themselves purchase NIL rights and sideline the current booster-led NIL financers.<<

Thus the "in-house" reference in the OP. I guess it's a logical thing that the deal may also entail the end of opt-outs which have turned a lot of bowls into unwatchable farces. Exhibit A: Georgia's Orange Bowl massacre of Florida State.

 

[ram2020]

That is interesting. You can't make an employee work if he/she doesn't want to. You can only stop paying them. So the NIL contracts will have some kind of penalty or non-payment is the kid doesn't play in a bowl? So what happens if he "springs his knee" in practice or "tweaks his shoulder"? And, of course, the coach doesn't have to play him. Can a kid go to a coach and say "I don't want to play so don't put me in"? Then it would go down as "coaches decision".

I love the concept, of course, but there will still be opt outs, IMHO.

This is where it gets murky, and I don't claim to know the first thing about employment law(assuming the players are EE's in this environment). But couldn't you simply offer a payment bonus for the bowl game this is only payable if the player plays in a certain % of the game? If he is hurt, he can't play, therefore he does not receive the bonus? I'm sure there would be an outcry about players playing through injuries and potentially limiting future earnings in the NFL, but isn't that what professional athletes do? Sure, a portion of this would be guaranteed, but the bonus portion is based on performance metrics and availability.


I mean, at the end of the day if the players want to be paid like professionals, they have to be incentivized and deterred like professionals. Firemen don't get to say their shoulders hurt, can't do their job(yes, there is worker comp, will there be for college..er, professional, athletes too)?

 

[Obliviax]

This is where it gets murky, and I don't claim to know the first thing about employment law(assuming the players are EE's in this environment). But couldn't you simply offer a payment bonus for the bowl game this is only payable if the player plays in a certain % of the game? If he is hurt, he can't play, therefore he does not receive the bonus? I'm sure there would be an outcry about players playing through injuries and potentially limiting future earnings in the NFL, but isn't that what professional athletes do? Sure, a portion of this would be guaranteed, but the bonus portion is based on performance metrics and availability.


I mean, at the end of the day if the players want to be paid like professionals, they have to be incentivized and deterred like professionals. Firemen don't get to say their shoulders hurt, can't do their job(yes, there is worker comp, will there be for college..er, professional, athletes too)?

right...you may be able to put him into the game but you can't make him "play".

 

[LandoComando]

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No chance
Everyone is banged out--prove they're not injured
It's dumb to even expected kids to want to play in these games--eliminate them

 

[Kasparaitis]

No chance
Everyone is banged out--prove they're not injured
It's dumb to even expected kids to want to play in these games--eliminate them

It’s all futile. None of this tinkering around the edges will work. Either they are professionals, i.e. employees or they are college students. They’re now on the professional track and that will require laws, labor rules, unions, collective bargaining agreements etc. and as I have stated many times this means college football has already peaked. The way I see it there will be SEC vs Big Ten low grade professional football and then second and third or more tiers of everyone else. If the laws won’t allow players to be students many programs will eventually be dropped. The only thing left for me to say is, Go Ravens!

 

[The Spin Meister]

right...you may be able to put him into the game but you can't make him "play".

Players may hurt all the time. Especially in big games against rivals. It’s always a balancing act to try to win a game vs not looking good on film.

Ask Sean Clifford. Played hurt all season. Probably would have been better served to sit a couple games to get healthy.

Bowl games will be the same with probably a bias to not playing and staying healthy. If they are projected to be drafted losing a portion of their NIL payment.

And I am sure that NFL scouts attend many bowl game practices. They will know who is playing with an injury and adjust evaluations,

The only true concern is getting an injury during a bowl game that could hurt draft status. But that is true of every game played. Life is made up of risks and decisions.

 

[Cowbell Man]

Players may hurt all the time. Especially in big games against rivals. It’s always a balancing act to try to win a game vs not looking good on film.

Ask Sean Clifford. Played hurt all season. Probably would have been better served to sit a couple games to get healthy.

Bowl games will be the same with probably a bias to not playing and staying healthy. If they are projected to be drafted losing a portion of their NIL payment.

And I am sure that NFL scouts attend many bowl game practices. They will know is playing with an injury and adjust evaluations,

The only true concern is getting an injury during a bowl game that could hurt draft status. But that is true of every game played. Life is made up of risks and decisions.

And yet Clifford’s performance in his last bowl game was nothing short of a gem and his best game. That opened eyeballs in Green Bay for sure.

 

[Obliviax]

Players may hurt all the time. Especially in big games against rivals. It’s always a balancing act to try to win a game vs not looking good on film.

Ask Sean Clifford. Played hurt all season. Probably would have been better served to sit a couple games to get healthy.

Bowl games will be the same with probably a bias to not playing and staying healthy. If they are projected to be drafted losing a portion of their NIL payment.

And I am sure that NFL scouts attend many bowl game practices. They will know is playing with an injury and adjust evaluations,

The only true concern is getting an injury during a bowl game that could hurt draft status. But that is true of every game played. Life is made up of risks and decisions.

I hear you but That isn't my point.

My point is that there is no way you can make a kid WANT to play. At the same time, he can just say he is hurt. There are lots of injuries that cannot be corroborated with an MRI or exam. What use is it to make a Chop Robinson play against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl if he phones in his effort? Football is about will. One team tries to destroy the other's will to win. If the players don't really care to be there but need to in order to collect the last piece of their NIL payment, what have we gained?

And yeah, NFL players play to pay too. The difference is, in the case of these bowl opt outs, it is the last gasp of their college careers. You can't make them care.

 

[The Spin Meister]

And yet Clifford’s performance in his last bowl game was nothing short of a gem and his best game. That opened eyeballs in Green Bay for sure.

Of course, he had over a month to heal.

 

[Obliviax]

And yet Clifford’s performance in his last bowl game was nothing short of a gem and his best game. That opened eyeballs in Green Bay for sure.

Agreed. But he was a QB who don't risk injury like other players. And he needed to play to increase his stock. I am more concerned about the Chop Robinson's and Olu Fashanu. We lost two first-round draft picks for that bowl plus King and Dixon.

 

[The Spin Meister]

I hear you but That isn't my point.

My point is that there is no way you can make a kid WANT to play. At the same time, he can just say he is hurt. There are lots of injuries that cannot be corroborated with an MRI or exam. What use is it to make a Chop Robinson play against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl if he phones in his effort? Football is about will. One team tries to destroy the other's will to win. If the players don't really care to be there but need to in order to collect the last piece of their NIL payment, what have we gained?

And yeah, NFL players play to pay too. The difference is, in the case of these bowl opt outs, it is the last gasp of their college careers. You can't make them care.

True. But if you have NFL aspirations you can’t walk through and put out bad film.

And in any non-playoff bowl game the coaches will only play any NFL aspirant a limited number of plays. They want to see players drafted high and promote the program. They also want next year’s players to get big game experience.

 

[Obliviax]

True. But if you have NFL aspirations you can’t walk through and put out bad film.

And in any non-playoff bowl game the coaches will only play any NFL aspirant a limited number of plays. They want to see players drafted high and promote the program. They also want next year’s players to get big game experience.

I agree. But is that any less than not supporting your team by not playing at all? My guess is that this is all well and good until a player gets hurt in the bowl game. And then that would be used against the coach that made the kid play. If you are Chop or Olu, you don't really care too much. But if you are a guy slated for the middle rounds or worse, it is different. Of course, Dixon and King didn't play so they certainly could have increased their status with a good game.

in the end, I think it would have some effect, but not much.

 

[LandoComando]

Clifford wasn't drafted because of the bowl game

 

[indynittany]

…Then the players can decide if the money is worth the risk.

They already took the money. Time to go to work.

 

[Kasparaitis]

I agree. But is that any less than not supporting your team by not playing at all? My guess is that this is all well and good until a player gets hurt in the bowl game. And then that would be used against the coach that made the kid play. If you are Chop or Olu, you don't really care too much. But if you are a guy slated for the middle rounds or worse, it is different. Of course, Dixon and King didn't play so they certainly could have increased their status with a good game.

in the end, I think it would have some effect, but not much.

You guys are whistling past the graveyard.