It wouldn't survive without the tie to college. Unless you significantly shrink the number of teams in the league, the fanbase will not be there without the college tie-in. It simply won't have the same lure as College Football. Whether the athletes on the field are actually taking classes or not, the tie-in to the universities must remain. If you think about it, the primary reason universities have a team is for marketing purposes. Remove the college tie-in and the marketing for a specific university disappears.
I see nothing wrong with having universities contract players to play for them. Part of their compensation would be guaranteed tuition/room/board should the player wish to pursue a degree afterward. And with actual contracts, a lot of the team jumping that has opened up with the Portal would go away. You contract to play for Penn State, the contract says you stay for a minimum of 3 yrs unless mutually agreed to by the coaching staff and the player. You can only play for a maximum of 4 yrs over a 5 or 6 yr period in the league. Same as the currently eligibility.
I don't see why something like this couldn't work.
That’s a lot of risk for a marketing relationship
As the sport moves to a purely professional model and higher education is facing increasing scrutiny and challenges, it is very likely that the value and suitability of university involvement in something disconnected from education will be questioned. Basically, the schools will become owners of minor league football teams. Why?
It wouldn't survive without the tie to college. Unless you significantly shrink the number of teams in the league, the fanbase will not be there without the college tie-in. It simply won't have the same lure as College Football. Whether the athletes on the field are actually taking classes or not, the tie-in to the universities must remain. If you think about it, the primary reason universities have a team is for marketing purposes. Remove the college tie-in and the marketing for a specific university disappears.
I see nothing wrong with having universities contract players to play for them. Part of their compensation would be guaranteed tuition/room/board should the player wish to pursue a degree afterward. And with actual contracts, a lot of the team jumping that has opened up with the Portal would go away. You contract to play for Penn State, the contract says you stay for a minimum of 3 yrs unless mutually agreed to by the coaching staff and the player. You can only play for a maximum of 4 yrs over a 5 or 6 yr period in the league. Same as the currently eligibility.
I don't see why something like this couldn't work.
Money? That assumes that fans will continue to have the same level of interest and revenue from ticket sales and media rights remains as is or increases, alumni will still make donations because of football, prospective students will still see the teams as a draw to