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It absolutely boggles my mind that any sane and rational adult would even consider paying any high school kid a dime to play a sport. No matter how talented they are and no matter how good a particular sport may be it’s still high school and it’s still an extracurricular activity- yeah I’m not naive and I know that in several states football and basketball are a religion but…

I’ve seen my share of really great athletes come through my area and many were simply that much more dominant than their peers but to actually pay one money is beyond my scope of reasoning.

The end is near.

If you give a Senior a $1.2mil 2-year deal. Does that allow you to direct where he plays in the 2nd year of that deal?

That would be the only way I can make any sense of this. No actually it still makes no sense.

NIL has turned into as much of a status symbol for the wealthy as it is about the kids.

Just another way to spend money in a public fashion (houses, cars, country clubs, charity events, now NIL).

I couldn’t imagine using capital on a HS athlete, but in some circles that is now a currency.

Scholarships are playing athletes regardless of what you think. Anytime money or services are exchanged you are paying someone for something. What is interesting to me is that when you did not know or at least it was not out in the open how much money was being exchanged people thought that was O.K., but now when you see how much money is involved are getting upset. Not because of the amount of money, but that they cannot compete with that amount of money.

Was it fair that Michigan had 85 scholarship players, but App only had 65 scholarships? Turns out it did not matter because App beat them anyway. You know that the NCAA investigated App heavily and found no wrongdoing or they would have shut us down because we did what no one thought was possible.

AppWyo wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 07, 2025 8:43 am

Scholarships are playing athletes regardless of what you think. Anytime money or services are exchanged you are paying someone for something. What is interesting to me is that when you did not know or at least it was not out in the open how much money was being exchanged people thought that was O.K., but now when you see how much money is involved are getting upset. Not because of the amount of money, but that they cannot compete with that amount of money.

Was it fair that Michigan had 85 scholarship players, but App only had 65 scholarships? Turns out it did not matter because App beat them anyway. You know that the NCAA investigated App heavily and found no wrongdoing or they would have shut us down because we did what no one thought was possible.

Yes, scholarships are paying athletes. So is receiving extra nutritional food and drink. And receiving tutoring.

You have to be naive if you didn't think high school athletes, particularly football, was receiving money before this year. I was against it then and I am against it now.

I worked with a lady back in the mid to late 80’s who was a diehard Oklahoma fan. I used to kid her sometimes about that school and coach being crooked. We all knew about the secret envelopes of cash, players being paid to turn on the automatic sprinklers, guys who had “jobs” at local car dealerships, etc. Those on the side of players being paid for true NIL deals and those in favor of players simply being paid because they are taken advantage of are two completely separate groups. There is simply no way a high school kid is getting paid without an ulterior motive. I know rich folks lose their collective minds over sports and spend stupid money but unless the motive is to steer a kid to their school why on earth would anyone pay someone in high school? You can’t bet on games unless it’s just between two people and does anyone care if 17 year old football player represents Joe Blow Heating and Air?

You can't put 10,000 $100 dollar bills in an envelope and the unlimited transferring around has hurt the sport. Comparing then to now is apples and oranges. It's not jealousy either. The sport used to teach life lessons about teamwork and comradery, societal stuff that doesn't get taught anywhere else and is needed.

Might be why soccer is growing so fast. It's certainly not for the entertainment value.

Just curious. Are all these High Schoolers 18 years old? If not, are these NIL "contracts" binding on both parties?

Only 12?

What constitutes an "NIL deal"?

Because in reality, by a loose definition of NIL, the number is probably in the 1000s. I personally know dozens of kids who get free or discounted gear in exchange for linking their social media accounts to the gear vendors' sites, in a number of different sports and as young as 7th grade. I would consider these agreements to be "NIL deals".

It was a bad idea, it is a bad idea, it always will be a bad idea. If you didn't see this coming, make sure to have someone else look for you before you cross the street.

The basic concept of NIL is ok with me. If a business is profiting off of any of the 3 parts the athlete should be compensated. I can’t see any possible scenario where a high school kid would help increase the profits of any legitimate business. Even if a stud football player in Charlotte, South Florida or some other large metropolitan area wears some gear and has his picture taken it’s really hard to imagine he or she boosts the value of that gear company. Perhaps that’s my old man naivety talking.