College football and agents

[rholl]

This latest breaking story seems to have fueled the "pay the college football player" group again. I hate it when I hear a media type on Espn talking about players playing for free. They obviously dont understand "scholarship." If all players had to pay to go to school there would be a lot fewer college football teams.

[Mojado]

This could be very interesting to see what small town America thinks about his issue. Could someone poll this thread?

And I'm not talking down to anyone, but most people on this site are from a 3A town and a couple of regions produce D1 kids every year...

[big daddy russ]

From what I understand, NCAA football players can be given up to $595 a month after room, board, and tuition for living expenses.

That was about my entire monthly income my first year in College Station. And I was paying for my own rent, food, and car insurance. Brought home right at $9,000 that year.

With rising tuition and housing costs compared to income, these kids are doing OK as student-athletes. They're effectively making about $49k a year, which is twice the per capita income in the United States. Now they don't get to see that money because it goes towards their school costs, but it's there nonetheless.

I'm not saying I'm against raising the monthly living expenses of these kids, but not to the levels that these folks on the radio are asking. There are certain sacrifices that everyone makes in order to go to college. I sacrificed one meal a day, variety in my diet, and outside activities. I was homeless for two months (but found places to crash). But I made it work.

I'm not trying to I'm not saying that I don't have compassion for some of their situations (especially the ones with kids they're trying to support), and I don't want anyone to have to go through all my hard times, but I am saying that it happens and that your decisions in tough times define your life moreso than your decisions in good times.


***Also, this isn't meant to be a story of how tough it was back in the day, thus the reason I've never brought it up until now. I just feel it was pertinent to the topic at hand.

[DDBooger]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
From what I understand, NCAA football players can be given up to $595 a month after room, board, and tuition for living expenses.

That was about my entire monthly income my first year in College Station. And I was paying for my own rent, food, and car insurance. Brought home right at $9,000 that year.

With rising tuition and housing costs compared to income, these kids are doing OK as student-athletes. They're effectively making about $49k a year, which is twice the per capita income in the United States. Now they don't get to see that money because it goes towards their school costs, but it's there nonetheless.

I'm not saying I'm against raising the monthly living expenses of these kids, but not to the levels that these folks on the radio are asking. There are certain sacrifices that everyone makes in order to go to college. I sacrificed one meal a day, variety in my diet, and outside activities. I was homeless for two months (but found places to crash). But I made it work.

I'm not trying to I'm not saying that I don't have compassion for some of their situations (especially the ones with kids they're trying to support), and I don't want anyone to have to go through all my hard times, but I am saying that it happens and that your decisions in tough times define your life moreso than your decisions in good times.


***Also, this isn't meant to be a story of how tough it was back in the day, thus the reason I've never brought it up until now. I just feel it was pertinent to the topic at hand. Their is a fair amount of these players who lived how you lived in college their whole lives. College life for some is a step up. At least the assurance of 3 square meals a day. The allowance is not much, but it can be stretched. I can't judge them based on my life course, I couldn't sympathize, but I can understand how scumbags find their way on campus through 3rd parties offering some money and gifts and them taking it. At some point, it probably becomes too tempting.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by DDBooger
Their is a fair amount of these players who lived how you lived in college their whole lives. College life for some is a step up. At least the assurance of 3 square meals a day. The allowance is not much, but it can be stretched. I can't judge them based on my life course, I couldn't sympathize, but I can understand how scumbags find their way on campus through 3rd parties offering some money and gifts and them taking it. At some point, it probably becomes too tempting.
I agree. I'm as guilty of this as anyone, but too often we focus too often on what we don't have rather than what we do.

Those moments of temptation are measuring sticks on our character. Lord knows I've failed those tests a time or twenty and I don't have the character I expect from some of our athletes.

And some agents can absolutely be scumbags.