Joey Porter won't play in the bowl game
- Thread starter Obliviax
- Start date
It very definitely is selfish. It is also a risk assessment that is very real. It’s also something that virtually none of us has had to assess.
I want him to play. Our chances to win improve with him on the field. But that’s me….and it’s a selfish want.
Which is a reason to expand the playoffs. The kids know what these games are...its just the fans that want to believe they're important or still relevant
Maybe our chances to win next year improve with him not on the field. Any reps he gets in the bowl game aren't helping us next season. We will be tested early, so might as well have the next man in ready by getting reps against presumably higher level competition.
I don’t see how such a “contract” could be enforced. Players will just claim to be injured or sick. And they are probably all pretty beat up by the end of the year so they would not necessarily even have to lie.
True. Maybe the guy who ends up starting in place of Joey was frustrated with lack of playing time and considering entering the portal? This situation may prevent him from leaving.
The trend of stars skipping bowl games may also result in the senior walk on who busted his ass for 5 years finally getting his first start, and that’s always a cool story.
Yes. The playoff is inevitably going to expand. The regular Bowl games are never going to become more important than they are now.
As fans, we just need to enjoy them the same way we enjoy the Blue White Game. We need to recognize it’s a cool opportunity and experience for the 90% of College Football players who will not make the NFL. Maybe a good way for a marginal player to play his way to being a late round draft pick.
The only other option is getting rid of the bowls completely.
That is the way it is now. I would guess if OSU does not make the CFP, and it is unlikely they do, 3-4 players will opt out of whatever bowl they go to. Some players are on the 3 year plan, then the NFL, some are even on a 2 year plan.
Sure, I guess they could fake injury and I'm not sure how you would deal with that.
I look at it this way. If I owe rent I can't simply stop paying. I made a deal and I'm obligated to live by it. It seems to me that the scholarship agreement should bind players per the agreement. I used the example of a MLB player who will be a free agent after the season. He's obligated to finish the season with his current team, including playoffs. He could fake injury too and I don't know how they deal with that. Can his pay be withheld if he's cleared by a team physician?
I look at any business through the eyes of the customer, in this case the fans. That's attendance, parking, concessions, TV revenue, merchandise, etc. Fans are the customers. How would you feel if you spent $2k to go to a bowl game only to find out that your favorite players decided not to play and that your team's chances of winning are limited? Most fans will feel like they got screwed. Why would the NCAA want to piss off their customers? Other sports don't allow it. Of course they also don't allow players under contract to transfer to another team without penalty. IMO it's just not good. The NCAA is a mess.
P.S. I don't blame the players. They're doing what they think is best for themselves and the rules allow it. I blame the people who make the rules.
I understand that's why it happens but IMO it's a technicality. The loophole should be fixed.
But it doesn't need fixed. The season is over--it's a reward. They don't need to play.
It's honestly just a scrimmage--a poster above made a great point about we need to look at it how we look at the Blue-White game. Porter not playing gives guys an opportunity to show what they can do for next year.
I don't agree that it's like the all star game. A player might skip those because he's dealing with injuries and wants to be in the best possible shape for when the regular season resumes. He's doing what's best for his team and its fans.
I'm not sure what happens if a coach leaves early. I assume there is a penalty clause in his contract. His new team might pay that for him but I doubt they get off without penalty. What sense would it make to pay a coach if he doesn't coach?
We just disagree. You think every game is meaningless unless you're in the national championship hunt. I think that's absurd. Why not allow the players to quit in October?
But why are you indicating that a bowl game is part of the season? It's not scheduled. It's an added game. No player should be forced to play. Their obligation is fulfilled.
It's not a playoff game. There's nothing gained by winning it other than bragging rights.
I don't know why you think kids should risk injury in a meaningless game. Even if you think it's meaningful they don't.
Who said they can't? NFL teams would view that differently though because it's in the middle of a season. Not a bowl game.
I don't understand this mentality that some haven't accepted what the bowls have become. If a kid sits out of a playoff game that's a different story. He's done with school--last classes are before the bowl game. He's preparing for the draft.
Let's be real--like a lot of kids Porter went to school to prepare for the NFL nothing else.
Was the Michigan State game important or relevant? Or the Rutgers game? The Maryland game? Why not sit out all of these?
I think bowl games are meaningful and I consider them part of the season.
I hate it but I get it. In my day, you put the team first. Those days are gone. College is about preparing yourself to be able to make it as an adult. If you get a multi-million dollar bonus, the college has done its job.
His is an interesting case because, and I am assuming, he really won't need to money. According to this, his dad made over $45,000,000 in career earnings. I am hoping he was able to bank/invest $10m or more.
Regardless, the kid has a chance to make millions and can't take the risk of getting hurt. I hate it but I get it.
His is an interesting case because, and I am assuming, he really won't need to money. According to this, his dad made over $45,000,000 in career earnings. I am hoping he was able to bank/invest $10m or more.
Regardless, the kid has a chance to make millions and can't take the risk of getting hurt. I hate it but I get it.
I respect different opinions but there are two things I don't understand,
- People who say games are meaningless unless playing for the NC. In that case 85% of the teams should stop playing.
- It seems to me that a scholarship is offered in exchange for services and that both parties should be bound by that deal and IMO that deal should cover the entire season even if it extends a few days past the academic semester.
I think you are missing a point, relative to #2, is that you can't MAKE people work for you. There is a reason why you get a paycheck AFTER you put in your two weeks of work and not before. JPjr plays for his scholarship. When he no longer needs his 'ship, he can go do whatever he pleases. PSU is out of the picture. Now, the reality is that PSU will still take him in for a period of time because they need to from a PR perspective. The position that PSU is now it is simply to use JPjr as an example of how PSU treats their players and how a PSU 'ship can be used as a path to fame and fortune.
I'll add another thing I don't understand (because it doesn't make sense). This narrative that the playoff has rendered the other bowls meaningless makes no sense at all. How is it any different than bowl seasons prior to the playoff? All but one, or at most two bowls had absolutely no bearing on who was voted national champion, so that argument is absurd.
This whole sit out the bowl thing has picked up steam because of the growth of the stupid narrative that college athletes are "victims" and "slave labor", and sitting out the bowl game is a way to stick it to the man. These kids get a scholarship, training, coaching, exposure, and all the other benefits that come with being a college athlete (e.g. all the gash you can handle!) They are not victims. Far from it. Just another thing woke culture has ruined.
I'm not missing that at all. I think it's a loophole that should be closed in the agreement.
Players start fall practice before the semester begins. Should they be allowed to opt out and not start practicing until September?
That's a huge assumption. 70% of NFL players are bankrupt within a few years of their NFL career ending. They typically have very little financial planning training or sense and easy money goes even easier. They don't know how to shut off the valve as the spicket runs out.
A notable exception is PSU's own Carl Nassib who was giving financial planning classes to fellow rookies and teammates as soon as he was drafted. The first couple of years in the NFL, he was living on only $60k and investing the rest. But for most, it is excessive spending enabled by big contracts but the big spending doesn't end until it's all gone.
If only they were given (free) access to a means of educating themselves about such things!
Because they're still enrolled in school and that's part of the actual season--not a reward for a good (and often times mediocre) season
But Porter and other players don't
The NFL doesn't
Most fans no longer do
But, beyond that, why does it matter what you think? It's not your life or your career involved.
This is what's best for Porter and it has no impact on the team
Truthfully, he could have made money off of that and have 50M in the bank--that shouldn't have any impact on what his son does moving forward. He wants to play at the highest level. He's projected as a first round pick--potentially high. Why play in a bowl game? What's the incentive?
Wow. You must have a low opinion of Porter's abilities on the football field!
1. That's why there needs to be a 24 team playoff that includes all conference winners
2. How it seems to you isn't relevant though, right?
I don't know why anyone does show up to a bowl game. I think people are idiots for spending money on them personally but if you or others enjoy it then go. But we all need to stop holding players to what we believe. They all know what the bowls really are. They get SWAG and a trip to scrimmage against another team.
Bowl timing is a big part of the issue. If you played all the non-playoff bowls the week of/week after the CCGs you'd see fewer opt outs because you roll right into them and aren't asking guys to delay draft prep by over a month. The CCG is more or less meaningless for k-state, lsu, clemson, unc, purdue and utah but you won't see any guys opting out because the additional time commitment is low.
I don't at all--win or lose it doesn't matter. We can't advance. It's a scrimmage. He's doing us a favor by allowing younger kids to get some playing time for 2023.
It really boils down to this. 10-20 years ago no one would ever have DREAMED of sitting out a bowl game like players do now. And the central reason for this is that people, our society, values, morals, etc. are just way, way worse.
Well, your "average" NFL player didn't make $45,000,000. The "average" player is ~ the 27th highest-paid player on the team. That is typically a guy making around ~$1m a year. The average NFL player makes $2.7m but that is average, not mean. By that, I mean that the average is way high because it factors in players making $20m which bends the curve. So the average player, today, lasts about five years at $1m a year. Several websites suggest JP sr is worth between $10m and $18m.
BTW, most leagues have now put into place organizations that help players invest. I have a family member that did that for the NBA for several years and also consulted with several very high end NFL players (now retired).
Regardless, JPjr isn't one of those "born into poverty, on the hard gravel streets of anytown, to a single mom who worked five jobs to give him an education, and a dad in jail...."
Last edited:
Porter might not and according to the current rules that's his choice.
Other players do. Why else would any of them play in the bowl game?
Most fans do. Why would we have all the discussion about what bowl game we get?
I think it matters what customers think. I'm a customer and I think the NCAA is screwing things up.
Of course it has an impact on the team. Don't you think PSU missed Dotson & Ebiketie vs Arkansas?
It's not just Porter though
For a lot of them it's their last chance to play any kind of football. For others, they're using it for next year. For Porter there is no "next year" at Penn State
No, most fans don't. Interest in waning each year
The only thing the NCAA is screwing up is having bowl games and not going to a large playoff game
Beating or losing to Arkansas mattered in what meaningful way? Hence no impact.
