ESPN NIL -Geo Interview

SleepingGiantIsAwake

All-Conference
Jul 24, 2001
4,657
1,595
113
I hate NIL, but congrats to Geo, very proud of him. Took initiative and working it. Wish him nothing but happiness and success.
 

cyrock3

All-Conference
Dec 19, 2006
38,183
2,064
103
“Several prominent athletic departments such as Duke and Ohio State have hired new employees to help athletes find opportunities to make money and answer questions about what they're allowed to do. Baker is one of several athletes who told ESPN that they wish their school had a person on campus who could field questions and point players in the right direction to find answers.”

Hobbs are you listening?
 

Section114

Junior
Jan 13, 2012
876
274
0
“Several prominent athletic departments such as Duke and Ohio State have hired new employees to help athletes find opportunities to make money and answer questions about what they're allowed to do. Baker is one of several athletes who told ESPN that they wish their school had a person on campus who could field questions and point players in the right direction to find answers.”

Hobbs are you listening?
That job is for Geo.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RUDiddy777

mugrat86

Heisman
Dec 11, 2014
8,147
10,667
82
Agreed, American citizens owning the rights to their own name is horrible.

happy 4th of July 😂
Geo

What are your thoughts about players that get a ton of cash by wealthy alumnus for doing absolutely nothing but signing on with a specific University? I’m all for guys getting paid to run a camp or helping a business grow, but many of these players will never earn revenues for a company more than their salary
 

Greene Rice FIG

Heisman
Dec 30, 2005
40,437
23,613
0
There is NIL and NILW. W is for worth (performance on court). I believe Geo has made it clear he is fighting for NIL and has even used the term "bad" for what you describe.
 

Geo_Baker_1

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2022
331
3,231
71
Geo

What are your thoughts about players that get a ton of cash by wealthy alumnus for doing absolutely nothing but signing on with a specific University? I’m all for guys getting paid to run a camp or helping a business grow, but many of these players will never earn revenues for a company more than their salary
I don’t like it. But i like it more than players getting nothing. I understand the fan perspective that it could ruin the purity of the game in football and basketball. But the game was never pure for everyone else involved. If you could see what goes on within most high level colleges, a lot of these athletes are not learning anything in school due to the demands of their sports. I’d rather see kids compensated while earning a degree if the ncaa isn’t going to demand the “student” in student athlete. And you only hear about these huge payments for signing with a school because it creates controversy. There are beautiful stories happening everyday because of NIL that aren’t making national news.

i had the chance to go to the NIL summit in atlanta with Caleb and the amount of business minded motivated student athletes was crazy. Nil is creating an entire new path for student athletes once their college careers end. I think in the long run it’s going create a ton of new jobs and opportunities around the country.
 

Greene Rice FIG

Heisman
Dec 30, 2005
40,437
23,613
0
I would like to see someone attempt to do analysis of college athletes NIL relative to their actual worth to universities on the court. Obviously it would be theory.

I would guess a typical major conference player would have 20X more worth with what (he/she/they 😀 ) do on the field vs. true NIL.
 

toby83

All-Conference
Dec 23, 2014
4,095
3,822
0
"But i like it more than players getting nothing."

$100k worth of free education is nothing?
 
  • Like
Reactions: RUskoolie

goru7

All-American
Dec 12, 2005
6,428
7,698
113
Agreed, American citizens owning the rights to their own name is horrible.

happy 4th of July 😂
You hopefully will learn soon that there are a very few knucklehead posters that are as miserable as can be. The quicker you learn about the ignore feature for that particular poster the better your experience on this forum is. It really has a number of knowledgeable engaged passionate fans that love RU , just like you. Just a little heads up
 

Geo_Baker_1

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2022
331
3,231
71
"But i like it more than players getting nothing."

$100k worth of free education is nothing?
If you haven’t played at a high level college for football/basketball, you wouldn’t understand. And i don’t expect you to understand. Rutgers is one of the few places that does a pretty good job with it. But that article about North Carolina that was posted in here a little while back with the fake classes. That happens everywhere 😂

and you can say “athletes chose this” but what are they supposed to do? They’re 18 year old kids getting treated like royalty living in the moment enjoying it. A lot of student athletes have gotten hurt from this severely in the long run

almost every athlete who doesn’t make it into the big time pro leagues who come back to school has the same message. “I wish i could go back and do **** a little differently. I wish i knew things about the real world that i know now.”
 

Geo_Baker_1

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2022
331
3,231
71
You hopefully will learn soon that there are a very few knucklehead posters that are as miserable as can be. The quicker you learn about the ignore feature for that particular poster the better your experience on this forum is. It really has a number of knowledgeable engaged passionate fans that love RU , just like you. Just a little heads up
I hear you but i love it haha. Can’t help myself. I like giving my viewpoints and continuing on with my day 😂 if it ever becomes too much where it effects my personal life then I’ll definitely take advantage of my ignore button lol
 

Plum Street

Heisman
Jun 21, 2009
27,306
23,009
0
I hear you but i love it haha. Can’t help myself. I like giving my viewpoints and continuing on with my day 😂 if it ever becomes too much where it effects my personal life then I’ll definitely take advantage of my ignore button lol
If you want some laughs , go back to read the in game threads on this board . They can be found by the search feature .
Start each game at the first post . It’s usually good stuff !!
Here’s a link to one that ended well for the good guys

 

mugrat86

Heisman
Dec 11, 2014
8,147
10,667
82
If you haven’t played at a high level college for football/basketball, you wouldn’t understand. And i don’t expect you to understand. Rutgers is one of the few places that does a pretty good job with it. But that article about North Carolina that was posted in here a little while back with the fake classes. That happens everywhere 😂

and you can say “athletes chose this” but what are they supposed to do? They’re 18 year old kids getting treated like royalty living in the moment enjoying it. A lot of student athletes have gotten hurt from this severely in the long run

almost every athlete who doesn’t make it into the big time pro leagues who come back to school has the same message. “I wish i could go back and do **** a little differently. I wish i knew things about the real world that i know now.”
Geo

This is an excellent point and I do not doubt there are plenty of stories like it. I am totally in favor of NIL when it is legitimate. For instance, PM is doing a summer bball camp and is being paid to use his name. That is something the camp will benefit from and so will Paul. Now these million dollar payouts are insane because there is no business that will get their value back. It is only rich alumnus who can afford to lose millions but gain a great player for their university
 
  • Like
Reactions: rubigtimenow

Caliknight

Hall of Famer
Sep 21, 2001
196,447
148,512
113
I don’t like it. But i like it more than players getting nothing. I understand the fan perspective that it could ruin the purity of the game in football and basketball. But the game was never pure for everyone else involved. If you could see what goes on within most high level colleges, a lot of these athletes are not learning anything in school due to the demands of their sports. I’d rather see kids compensated while earning a degree if the ncaa isn’t going to demand the “student” in student athlete. And you only hear about these huge payments for signing with a school because it creates controversy. There are beautiful stories happening everyday because of NIL that aren’t making national news.

i had the chance to go to the NIL summit in atlanta with Caleb and the amount of business minded motivated student athletes was crazy. Nil is creating an entire new path for student athletes once their college careers end. I think in the long run it’s going create a ton of new jobs and opportunities around the country.

Athletes not learning anything is the athletes choice. I guarantee you the men's lacrosse team, or any D1 team, put as much time in as any football or basketball players.

Yet they more often than not have challenging majors with a number of them going on to become doctors and laywers or go to grad school.

It isn't easy, but it is being done. If a player goes to a school where they are encouraged to dumb down their education, that's on them for making that choice.
 

Plum Street

Heisman
Jun 21, 2009
27,306
23,009
0
Athletes not learning anything is the athletes choice. I guarantee you the men's lacrosse team, or any D1 team, put as much time in as any football or basketball players.

Yet they more often than not have challenging majors with a number of them going on to become doctors and laywers or go to grad school.

It isn't easy, but it is being done. If a player goes to a school where they are encouraged to dumb down their education, that's on them for making that choice.
He specifically stated football and basketball. Thats where the NILmoney is going
For your argument, you would need to look at what kinds of students were those kids in hs before they became doctors and lawyers etc
 

Caliknight

Hall of Famer
Sep 21, 2001
196,447
148,512
113
He specifically stated football and basketball. Thats where the NILmoney is going
For your argument, you would need to look at what kinds of students were those kids in hs before they became doctors and lawyers etc

Those are excuses. Rutgers give every athlete the opportunity to receive a very good education. Some take advantage of it, some don't. That is on the student athletes themselves.

Certainly football, and to a lesser extent basketball, are receiving the lion share of NIL money.

But it's already trickled down to lacrosse. I'd call it less NIL and more buying players though. Like we are seeing in football and basketball. Just to a much less degree.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AdventureHasAName

Geo_Baker_1

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2022
331
3,231
71
Athletes not learning anything is the athletes choice. I guarantee you the men's lacrosse team, or any D1 team, put as much time in as any football or basketball players.

Yet they more often than not have challenging majors with a number of them going on to become doctors and laywers or go to grad school.

It isn't easy, but it is being done. If a player goes to a school where they are encouraged to dumb down their education, that's on them for making that choice.
You’re an 18 year old male coming from an economically poor area where every adult since you were a little kid tells you to either get good at basketball, football, or music to make it out of your neighborhood, then you finally feel like you’re close to that dream when you get to a big time power 5 school where the adults there tell you to focus on your sport and “oh here we’ll even pick your classes for you so they can be really easy and you have more time to do what you came here for which is your sport.” That’s the story of almost every single football and basketball player. Majority African American kids who come from nothing and have no idea what’s going on. There’s so few kids who realize it in school and then even fewer who will actually say something while in school. It’s absolutely not on the kids. It’s on the ones guiding them especially those in power in the ncaa who claim to want the best for their “student” athletes.

flip side for kids who grew up playing lacrosse. Number one there is basically zero potential to make money after school. So the mindset is already completely different. Most kids i know who play lacrosse come from money (expensive equipment) which means great guidance from day 1 as well as less pressure to perform in their sport. I could keep going but I’m sure I’ve made the point.

as a kid i went to Public schools, private schools, lived in great neighborhoods, and lived in bad neighborhoods. I’ve been able to see both sides and feel like i can relate pretty well. It’s so much deeper than the surface of “the kids should own their choice.”
 

Caliknight

Hall of Famer
Sep 21, 2001
196,447
148,512
113
You’re an 18 year old male coming from an economically poor area where every adult since you were a little kid tells you to either get good at basketball, football, or music to make it out of your neighborhood, then you finally feel like you’re close to that dream when you get to a big time power 5 school where the adults there tell you to focus on your sport and “oh here we’ll even pick your classes for you so they can be really easy and you have more time to do what you came here for which is your sport.” That’s the story of almost every single football and basketball player. Majority African American kids who come from nothing and have no idea what’s going on. There’s so few kids who realize it in school and then even fewer who will actually say something while in school. It’s absolutely not on the kids. It’s on the ones guiding them especially those in power in the ncaa who claim to want the best for their “student” athletes.

flip side for kids who grew up playing lacrosse. Number one there is basically zero potential to make money after school. So the mindset is already completely different. Most kids i know who play lacrosse come from money (expensive equipment) which means great guidance from day 1 as well as less pressure to perform in their sport. I could keep going but I’m sure I’ve made the point.

as a kid i went to Public schools, private schools, lived in great neighborhoods, and lived in bad neighborhoods. I’ve been able to see both sides and feel like i can relate pretty well. It’s so much deeper than the surface of “the kids should own their choice.”

There are a number of guys who do nothing but lacrosse. We have a number of our own doing so. So it's not only not impossible, it's actually happening.

It's really not. I know plenty of kids from bad backgrounds that excelled in school. In fact, I sponsor one. Hard? Yes. Impossible, no. I think you'd be surprised at the socio economic status of many of the lacrosse players at Rutgers. This isn't Duke.

It's not only ok to raise expectations, it's imperative.
 

Rutgers25

All-American
Jul 29, 2001
7,757
6,172
83
You’re an 18 year old male coming from an economically poor area where every adult since you were a little kid tells you to either get good at basketball, football, or music to make it out of your neighborhood, then you finally feel like you’re close to that dream when you get to a big time power 5 school where the adults there tell you to focus on your sport and “oh here we’ll even pick your classes for you so they can be really easy and you have more time to do what you came here for which is your sport.” That’s the story of almost every single football and basketball player. Majority African American kids who come from nothing and have no idea what’s going on. There’s so few kids who realize it in school and then even fewer who will actually say something while in school. It’s absolutely not on the kids. It’s on the ones guiding them especially those in power in the ncaa who claim to want the best for their “student” athletes.

flip side for kids who grew up playing lacrosse. Number one there is basically zero potential to make money after school. So the mindset is already completely different. Most kids i know who play lacrosse come from money (expensive equipment) which means great guidance from day 1 as well as less pressure to perform in their sport. I could keep going but I’m sure I’ve made the point.

as a kid i went to Public schools, private schools, lived in great neighborhoods, and lived in bad neighborhoods. I’ve been able to see both sides and feel like i can relate pretty well. It’s so much deeper than the surface of “the kids should own their choice.”

nice reply!
 
  • Like
Reactions: mugrat86

Plum Street

Heisman
Jun 21, 2009
27,306
23,009
0
Those are excuses. Rutgers give every athlete the opportunity to receive a very good education. Some take advantage of it, some don't. That is on the student athletes themselves.

Certainly football, and to a lesser extent basketball, are receiving the lion share of NIL money.

But it's already trickled down to lacrosse. I'd call it less NIL and more buying players though. Like we are seeing in football and basketball. Just to a much less degree.
Like I said , you can’t make that statement comparing professions of the lax players unless you compare their sat scores , high school transcripts and socioeconomic backgrounds
 

Caliknight

Hall of Famer
Sep 21, 2001
196,447
148,512
113
Like I said , you can’t make that statement comparing professions of the lax players unless you compare their sat scores , high school transcripts and socioeconomic backgrounds

I don't believe that is true. Everyone knows education is important. If you don't, you shouldn't be in college. Even people who don't take it seriously know that is a life tool to get. If you are in college and don't take advantage of that, that's ok. It's how certain schools are set up for athletes. Go to the Kentucky's of the world. That's a choice too. A bad one, but it's a choice. But if you do want to take school seriously, you shouldn't go to a school that isn't going to help you become the best student possible. Those schools exist too.

As a basketball player, I am sure that isn't hard to determine what schools those are.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RutgersNo1

Caliknight

Hall of Famer
Sep 21, 2001
196,447
148,512
113
Relatedly, here is a lacrosse player at OSU who has been able to monetize through NIL. I believe this is the way it is intended but clearly not the way it is playing out. This kid is an anomaly. His brand deals are apparently north of $200k. Not bad for a kid creating content, which ironically, has little to do with his own field lacrosse performance.

 
  • Like
Reactions: mugrat86

Plum Street

Heisman
Jun 21, 2009
27,306
23,009
0
I don't believe that is true. Everyone knows education is important. If you don't, you shouldn't be in college. Even people who don't take it seriously know that is a life tool to get. If you are in college and don't take advantage of that, that's ok. It's how certain schools are set up for athletes. Go to the Kentucky's of the world. That's a choice too. A bad one, but it's a choice. But if you do want to take school seriously, you shouldn't go to a school that isn't going to help you become the best student possible. Those schools exist too.

As a basketball player, I am sure that isn't hard to determine what schools those are.
I am gonna believe the guy that went through it here and tells us the education guys are getting isn’t good because of the demands of the sport.
 

scarletnewyorker2006

All-American
Sep 2, 2012
3,867
7,406
58
Agreed, American citizens owning the rights to their own name is horrible.

happy 4th of July 😂
No one has a right to prevent it. You’d be within your rights to sue the NCAA for forbidding it and the money you missed out on. They are an instrument of force, and force is unethical except in self defense.
 

Greene Rice FIG

Heisman
Dec 30, 2005
40,437
23,613
0
My attitude towards players getting paid is definitely changing. It is f’ing ridiculous to ask the players to play USC and UCLA in the regular season just for an extra few bucks for the conference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MiloTalon13

BillyC80

Heisman
Oct 23, 2006
17,102
15,521
72
A scholarship is just one recruiting tool. Yes, it has value if the student takes advantage of it, but he was brought in by the school for one reason, which is to perform on the field or court.

And a scholarship is not like the school is handing over cash — more like the school is putting an extra chair in a classroom, for a subject that the student athlete may not have any interest in.

On the other hand, NIL not only puts real money in the student athlete’s pocket, but it opens the door to understanding business and how real market forces will affect their lives.

You could make the case that over time, NIL will have a positive affect of motivating student athletes to take business and related courses that they really care about.
 

RUskoolie

Hall of Famer
Aug 1, 2007
221,431
112,200
63
You’re an 18 year old male coming from an economically poor area where every adult since you were a little kid tells you to either get good at basketball, football, or music to make it out of your neighborhood, then you finally feel like you’re close to that dream when you get to a big time power 5 school where the adults there tell you to focus on your sport and “oh here we’ll even pick your classes for you so they can be really easy and you have more time to do what you came here for which is your sport.” That’s the story of almost every single football and basketball player. Majority African American kids who come from nothing and have no idea what’s going on. There’s so few kids who realize it in school and then even fewer who will actually say something while in school. It’s absolutely not on the kids. It’s on the ones guiding them especially those in power in the ncaa who claim to want the best for their “student” athletes.

flip side for kids who grew up playing lacrosse. Number one there is basically zero potential to make money after school. So the mindset is already completely different. Most kids i know who play lacrosse come from money (expensive equipment) which means great guidance from day 1 as well as less pressure to perform in their sport. I could keep going but I’m sure I’ve made the point.

as a kid i went to Public schools, private schools, lived in great neighborhoods, and lived in bad neighborhoods. I’ve been able to see both sides and feel like i can relate pretty well. It’s so much deeper than the surface of “the kids should own their choice.”
You know damn well how often coaches are also talking to people about education. How often their teammates are rubbing off on them, the speakers that are brought in throughout the year, the network athletes meet. That was 10+ years ago I can't imagine what it's like now with all the support athletes get. You act like the players can't think for themselves. C'mon now. We are all responsible for our own actions. How can you actually think that.

NIL is an absolute disaster for college sports. I personally was very thankful to have a 80-100k full scholarship paid for along with per diem money, housing money etc. I didn't even get cost of attendance or the bs players are getting now. I was able to think for myself and pick different classes and I was also able to have enough people impress me that I switched from wanting to be a gym teacher coaching HS football and not GAS about school to a guy wanting to work on Wall St.

To just say most kids only know how to play football and shoot hoops and can't think for themselves is ridiculous. Some are like that, but not all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RutgersNo1

JudgeSmails56

All-American
Dec 1, 2019
4,645
6,764
113
Maybe it was meant to be a good thing, but it’s turned into a mess already. I don’t have an issue with a kid getting paid to do some commercials, or run summer camps or whatever. But now it’s just all the top players going to the highest bidder or top teams poaching players and paying them millions. It’s going to ruin college athletics unless they can get some rules in place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: biazza38

Geo_Baker_1

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2022
331
3,231
71
You know damn well how often coaches are also talking to people about education. How often their teammates are rubbing off on them, the speakers that are brought in throughout the year, the network athletes meet. That was 10+ years ago I can't imagine what it's like now with all the support athletes get. You act like the players can't think for themselves. C'mon now. We are all responsible for our own actions. How can you actually think that.

NIL is an absolute disaster for college sports. I personally was very thankful to have a 80-100k full scholarship paid for along with per diem money, housing money etc. I didn't even get cost of attendance or the bs players are getting now. I was able to think for myself and pick different classes and I was also able to have enough people impress me that I switched from wanting to be a gym teacher coaching HS football and not GAS about school to a guy wanting to work on Wall St.

To just say most kids only know how to play football and shoot hoops and can't think for themselves is ridiculous. Some are like that, but not all.
Your personal experience as an athlete doesn’t change the whole picture. Just as mine doesn’t either. Scholarships are absolutely amazing. But if you think that a billion dollar industry that basically forces mens basketball and football players to focus more on their sport than their academics is helping more than it’s hurting in the long run, then i don’t know what to say.

You realize in 2024, rutgers is going to be in the same league with schools in California 😂 I’ve never been one to be a die hard “all athletes should be employees” because i think it’ll be really complicated, but cmon, the ncaa is making it easy at this point to say that athletes aren’t being compensated fairly. Every move the ncaa makes is about more money, not more education.
 

Geo_Baker_1

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2022
331
3,231
71
Maybe it was meant to be a good thing, but it’s turned into a mess already. I don’t have an issue with a kid getting paid to do some commercials, or run summer camps or whatever. But now it’s just all the top players going to the highest bidder or top teams poaching players and paying them millions. It’s going to ruin college athletics unless they can get some rules in place.
There’s more than 480,000 student athletes in the ncaa. Can you find me over 50 stories of players going to the “highest bidder?” Genuinely curious
 

Caliknight

Hall of Famer
Sep 21, 2001
196,447
148,512
113
I am gonna believe the guy that went through it here and tells us the education guys are getting isn’t good because of the demands of the sport.
And I’m going to give you examples of guys doing the same amount of work yet find time to get educated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RutgersNo1

RUDiddy777

Heisman
Feb 26, 2015
33,683
38,153
113
And I’m going to give you examples of guys doing the same amount of work yet find time to get educated.

No doubt. But an athlete on the lax, swimming, fencing, etc team is far less likely to come from a disadvantaged background and is far more likely to have been able to get into college without a scholarship for sports.

If you’re from a disadvantaged background but managed to stay on the right path to even get to college, there’s a lot of stuff that you still have to take care of at home. We’ve seen plenty of guys leave college early to go help out due to family circumstances. Nearly happened to me, and I had to make professional decisions at 21 based upon that background.

The NIL is a net positive for the student athletes. There are a handful of guys who are going to publicly get what they privately got before. But this probably helps some guys finish their degrees. The point of college athletics isn’t championships, it’s the growth and development of student athletes. You already know this.