Our next QB?
- Thread starter Baz = Heisman
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How many guys actually make “generational wealth” as pros? Very, very, very few. Probably 1%.
One of my big problems with NIL is these dumbasses “bag chasing” for a mil or whatever, who are never going to graduate, and obviously won’t be able to live on a mil for another 60+ years.
They’re going to go broke, likely be homeless and won’t have the structure (graduation/networks) that they would have had when the inmates didn’t run the asylum.
Yes, because before NIL guys like this were totally going to get a nice quiet degree and become your well adjusted hometown banker
For the sake of argument, if you bank $5 million in your athlete career, invest it in Treasuries, you would have steady income of $200,000 per year less taxes. So I would say maybe a $4 million athletic income carefully managed has set you up with a pretty good nest egg if you don't need a really big house and a really big car.
You are neglecting taxes and the unavoidable splurge for the parents or the player. It's a really nice start but it's not enough to set most people up for life, especially with the type of inflation that is being experienced right now.
If these players don't take advantage and get a meaningful degree while in college, they are really passing up on the opportunity of a lifetime. That's why I value NU so much. I am completely fine with changing the system to allow players to finally share in the economic value that they help create. What I am not ok with is if paying the players becomes an excuse to not require these players to still be students and get a real degree while they are in college. I know at many schools that was largely not happening before but it's important that schools like NU don't also give in to the mindset that these kids are now employees and the student/athlete experience can go out the window. That's a non negotiable for me as a fan.
We have gone back and forth in this for years and I think we are on the same page with the belief that if the player doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity they are not the sharpest tools in the shed.
However, as long as the school has the infrastructure to succeed, iMO they do their job. I don’t give a **** about the graduation rate. It’s up to the player. If I am a recruit and am offered $5M at another P4 school to play versus $250k at NU with the promise of a “meaningful” degree, it’s a no brainer as a parent or a player to take the $5M. Anyone should easily be able to triple that nest egg before retirement with minimal investment risk. I would say that’s more than a good start. Say I choose another P4 school, it’s certainly possible and likely if I am of the mindset to obtain a meaningful degree. My personal example is having employees work for me that had NU and ND degrees. I worked for a highly successful person that never went a day to college.
You assume the worst about “student athletes”. I doubt it is much different than it was 30 years ago. If you want to work hard obtain a degree you can at pretty much any school. If you want to skate and party all the time, you can. I don’t buy this argument that you are destined to be a product of those around you. Most people don’t gravitate to the biggest degenerates on a team. In fact, they serve as an example to the younger players of how you can waste that opportunity.
I think it is the "carefully managed" part that is the bugaboo. When you have $4 M available to you it's a big temptation to live above a $160,000 annual life style. Now if you can keep your hands off of the principal enough to adjust for taxes and inflation and have at least a teachers salary and benefits maybe.
Actually, yeah. A lot of very good players (just below stars) were still bagging degrees because they knew they were fringe pros. Now they can “get a bag” and think they made it… until reality hits. Grad rates are going to plummet and you’ll see a 60 Minutes piece in 2030 on “lost athletes” that blew it all. It’s a lock.
LOL WHAT. Have you seen what these bozos are purchasing with their NIL “bags”? They’re spending $200,000 in a month.
at the end of the day, what other people down with their income isn’t much my business and it doesn’t make their earned income less earned.
I think we are on the same page on many things. Where we differ is that I don't believe most 18, 19, 20 year old kids are always mature enough to do what is in their long term best interest even when we are dealing with smart kids. That's why it's important they are put in an environment that encourages good choices and provides the tools to maximize their opportunities on and off the field. NU does that, many other schools do not and at a lot of these top football programs those kids are actually encouraged to make choices that prioritize football over academics. I don't want to NU to become one of those schools.
As usual, you miss the main point. They can do whatever they want with their money. What's important is that NU continues to honor their obligation to do everything possible in order to give these student/athletes the best chance to leave NU with a degree that means something. That way these kids have a chance at a career that will help them make a living even if they choose to squander the nest egg that they earned as a result of NIL.
I don't think you're wrong, but this seems like a critique of parenting and/or primary and secondary schools lacking in providing a decent financial education to American young people. I don't understand the connection to college athletics.
Is there like a documentary you watched on this somewhere? I have not read or seen a lot of stories about NIL recipients squandering the payout and ending up destitute.
Not at all. I think my own sons, regardless of how many times I would advise them otherwise, would be tempted to make bad decisions and neglect their academics if they went to a University that did not provide infrastructure/support that is conducive to academic achievement. That would especially be the case if they were athletes good enough to get paid thousands of dollars to play college sports. I consider myself a pretty good parent. Just imagine how much more susceptible kids with a less supportive family structure are to making bad decisions under those circumstances that they will likely regret in the long term.
Go look up social media of any of the big earners. The writing is on the wall for how it’s gonna go. No they’re not broke yet - I mean, that would be beyond an epic fail given this is a new thing - but they will be. They are just living in the moment and not thinking long term.
The point of college is to prepare you for life - not make you rich. You are supposed to get the structure and credentials to succeed as an adult for the next 40-60 years.
I believe NU can hold the ideal of graduating the athletes who enter the University whether through high school or through transfer and still compete with NIL and the portal. Contracts can be structured to give a livable income and tuition while heavily offering bonus for obtaining a degree or finishing eligibility provided they contribute to the team as a starter or primary/essential backup.
As far as the notion that paying elite student-athletes will make their lives more miserable because they won’t seek an education, I don’t believe for a second. First, schools will still need to maintain APR. Second, there are plenty of NCAA athletes before NIL who did not graduate and even cases where they rarely went to class. But most importantly, who are we or anyone to say, we will pay millions to the University to watch but won’t give athletes what the market says they deserve because we think they will only squander the money? Doesn’t it make more sense to obligate Universities to teach athletes how to properly handle money as a mandatory part of playing for the University?
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Core principles never go out of style or cease to be true. I don't care how many people on social media say otherwise.
What are you talking about? You think a few NIL “bags” will over value an education that gives you a GUARANTEED job (as an athlete) for life?? Completely ridiculous.
Most 18-22 years old in this generation - not our grandparents fwiw - are me focused and about flashiness. They aren’t going to budget like someone said earlier. That’s just comical.
Since the point of college is to get a good job anyway, why not just start now!
You’re both changing the subject and arguing straw men. Nothing about the players coming in and getting paid means they can’t be doing fine in classes.
That’s not the only reason I sent my kids to college. You can get a relatively good paying job in the trades without a college degree. I sent my kids to college to be more thoughful,
well rounded citizens and people,I think many people do the same.
Most NU football players end up with jobs they could easily get with a degree from many schools inside and outside of the big ten.
It’s cool that the degree says Northwestern, but let’s dispel the myth that a WR with a 3.0 GPA in SESP is getting into Goldman, Google, or McKinsey. There are of course exceptions, but that’s the reality.
NU football players hang out almost exclusively witu other teammates (and if not, other athletes) and typically take the easiest classes (and majors). They spend an insane amount of time working out, practicing, and preparing.
NU isn’t providing our football team with the eat pray love scenario you’re romanticizing, and if it’s happening it’s not because of academics; it’s from the coaching and support staff which would be there irrespective of admissions standards. They are already very much not normal students.
You think that’s why B1G scholarship football players go to college?
I was not responding to a post solely about football players. I was responding to a post about why people send their kids to college in general. Having said that, I do think wanting your kid to be a good citizen off the field in addition to a good football player on the field is one of the reasons why the parents of most NU football players steer them to NU over scholarship offers at many other Universities.
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Once again, people fail to recognize and acknowledge that the degrees (if they get degrees at all) that many scholarship football players get at most other P4 schools do not have the same value as the same degree that a general population student from that University would receive. Scholarship athletes are cheated and receive watered down degrees at many of these other Universities because they are "encouraged" to pursue easy majors and take blow off classes taught by professors who will let them skate through so that the athletes can focus most of their time on developing as football players. That does not happen at NU. Not only has NU been by far the long time leader in graduating scholarship athletes as evidenced by their APR rate, those degrees are not watered down because NU does not loosen academic standards for scholarship athletes. NU does loosen admission standards for student athletes relative to the general student population, but they do not loosen academic standards when those students get to NU. That's something NU fans should be proud of and certainly a philosophy that I do not want to see NU compromise on.
I very much depends on the athlete. I don’t dispute the “encouraged to take easier major” argument in extreme cases. Where the argument falls flat to me is the implication that most of these athletes can’t pursue meaningful degrees due to interference from the athletic programs.
The value of the degree generally should not be determined by the institution issuing it. Of course, most would start by looking at NU degree favorably to other P4 schools. Maybe it’s a foot in the door. However, it’s like the recruit ranking system for players coming out of HS. Once you get in college, nobody cares that you were a 5 star and the guy competing for the spot is a 3 star! Performance once there matters , just like it does in the business world. If a G Pop student from Oklahoma State is hired the same time as a NU football player with the same degree, the one climbing the corporate ladder will be the one that performs best for the hiring organization.
You know where you can go too, buddy! Have a wonderful day.
I wouldn’t count it out. I have no direct experience but I’ve heard consulting firms give some weight to D1 athletes.
I love the sentiment but you aren’t getting an interview at McKinsey without a 3.9 GPA in a legit major in the year of our lord 2025. The next tier down isn’t as competitive but you aren’t getting a break because you played football.
Football players are also encouraged to take the easiest majors at NU. The program actively steers players away from rigorous classes. It’s why everyone is in the school of comms and SESP. NU doesn’t have ballroom dancing but our team isn’t looking to find themselves academically and enrich their lives through school. The majority of the growth and life prep comes from the coaching staff, which would be there regardless. Having an NU degree is great but those degrees aren’t going to lead to differentiated careers, especially with lower GPAs.
It is not a knock; the classes NU players take are harder on average than at other schools. The degree is better. But I don’t think it matters as much as you’re saying. The best path for football players is still a handshake hire and there are a lot of schools with far more alumni that are willing to offer that to their school’s players.
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