smwilliams

July 1st, 2011 at 5:53 PM ^

It seems to me the obvious solution is to provide players with cuts of merchandise sold and licensening fees.

If 1k Denard jerseys are sold at 50 bucks a pop and he gets 1% of that (obviously just making up the numbers).

EA Sports pays each university so much to license the players names and likenesses (see O'Bannon, Ed) and all players get an equal cut.

Not only do players have an incentive to get better and become stars so their merch flies off the shelves, but they get a little something for all the cash being brought in on video games, etc.

I don't see a difference between that and if I wrote a crazy good paper back in college and the New Yorker paid me so much for it.

 

jmblue

July 1st, 2011 at 6:20 PM ^

1.  What do you do about the walk-on who conveniently shares a jersey number with a superstar?  Does he get a cut, too, since it's also his number? 

2.  What's to stop rich boosters from buying up jerseys left and right to ensure their star players get a generous royalty check? 

3.  This would be very, very awkward for coaches.  Here you'd have 83 of your scholarship players scraping by and two getting paid thousands by Nike/Adidas/Under Armor.  Talk about chemistry problems.  Say you decide to bench your starting QB, who's not playing well but who is getting paid by Nike.  Would Nike get upset and pressure you to put him back in?  Their jerseys might not sell as well with him on the bench.  (Nick Saban, of course, would take full advantage by promising every recruit that Alabama would sell his replica jersey.)

This stuff is never simple.

 

 

Mr Miggle

July 1st, 2011 at 7:52 PM ^

Some numbers will naturally sell better than others. #1 is always going to be a big seller. It's easy to imagine using that as a recruiting tool.

When I buy a #2 jersey it's going to be because of Woodson, not V. Smith. I won't be alone.

 

readyourguard

July 1st, 2011 at 3:04 PM ^

For someone who engaged in something he knew was illegal, and the fact that it's probably not the first time this guy has ever crossed the line, he sure sang like a canary.   Dude kissed and told everything.

Noleverine

July 1st, 2011 at 3:07 PM ^

Im really surprised this hasn't attracted more buzz on the board. These are very big allegations and I expect to see something serious come out of this. Depending on how much more comes out of OSU this could be the worst offense in decades.

PhillipFulmersPants

July 1st, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^

Maybe the the holiday weekend? I agree with sentiment elsewhere in comments here that Kelly is likely done, and perhaps sooner rather than later. Can't believe Oregon is still claiming this is on the up and up.. Doesn't matter if it was $500, $5,000, $25k, or $250K. The weren't paying for recruiting info, clearly. They were paying for someone of influence to steer kids to Eugene. The head coach was in the middle of it and blessed the payment, if Lyle is to be believed

I'm not buying Lyle's " I wish I'd studied the guidelines" defense either. If he didn't sense something fishy, he's clueless.

PhillipFulmersPants

July 1st, 2011 at 4:14 PM ^

First call, if I were the AD. There are probably some sanctions for the program in the future though, but as I write I'm thinking that's probably a good scenario for a coach trying to revive his mojo. Low expectations built in in early years, if there are bowl bans and scholarship reductions. It will be fun to watch where this story goes.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

July 1st, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^

Oregon's on the other coast and nobody really hates them.  Up til now their worst offense against mankind was their uniforms, and even then not as much since they got rid of the diamond-plating.

superstringer

July 1st, 2011 at 3:08 PM ^

There is one aspect of this story that makes me think VERY bad things about LSU.

Why was Seastrunk's mother so adamant he go to LSU?  She wasn't involved in his life, at least in raising him.  Both Oregon and LSU turn out NFL products, and there's hardly a basis to say LSU is a better degree than Oregon.  (I laugh at the concept of comparing the two -- it's like asking, which tastes better, a piece of cardboard or a piece of plastic.  Then there's the filet mignon nearby, the UM degree.)

Doesn't this make you think, some LSU boosters go to his mom and said -- "hey, get your boy to come here, you'll be happy you did.  REAL happy."  I mean, what else would explain his mom being so adamant that he go to LSU and not Oregon?

wjknox3

July 1st, 2011 at 3:18 PM ^

I guess the lesson here for everyone is that you should never trust a college program whose mascot rhymes with “sucks.”  Bucks, Ducks….same difference.   

wjknox3

July 1st, 2011 at 3:20 PM ^

I love Chip Kelly’s little note to street agent guy that sounded eerily similar to Tres’ e-mail sign-off to Cicero?  All that was missing was a "Happy Easter" blast.  Hilarious.

“Will, I really appreciate your help in getting Trovon, Dontae, and the whole crew here this past weekend. We’ll work on getting Lache out here soon too! Thanks for orchestrating everything and all your help with these guys. I hope you enjoyed the game … Go Ducks! – Chip Kelly” 

death by wolverine

July 1st, 2011 at 3:29 PM ^

It just amazes me that everyone but the SEC is getting caught and in trouble. It kind of like the cops busting people for speeding while the murders get off scott- free. I really hope the "10" is auburn or Alabama.

jmblue

July 1st, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^

Yeah, Saban's the kind of guy who searches the rulebook high and low to find loopholes that will gain him a legal-but-dubious advantage.  The medical-hardship case obviously is an example.  Also, wasn't he the one who started the trend of calling super-late time outs (an instant before the ball is snapped) on opponents' field goal attempts?

BlueDragon

July 1st, 2011 at 6:02 PM ^

There are literally dozens of rules related to the use of chess clocks in official tournament games and skittles games that can be used in "dick move" ways.  I myself have benefitted and been victimized by their minutiae in a variety of manners.  Mr. Saban is simply using the rules to his advantage in that regard.

Wolverine In Exile

July 1st, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^

I was hoping the SI article on Ohio St had.... hadn written notes, cell phone records, and a guy ready to sing on the record.

 

For the record, if Will Lyles was on "The Wire" he would've been shivved half way to Tuesday after the first 5 mintues of the interview. Snitched get stitches bitches.

turtleboy

July 1st, 2011 at 4:16 PM ^

The NCAA says the worst thing you can do is lie to the NCAA, to me the worst thing you can do is cheat to make your team better than it otherwise would be. If your star players were caught snorting blow out of a dead hookers buttcrack it wouldn't be as bad to me a coach using alternative methods to get squeaky clean God Fearing 5 stars to play for his team instead of someone elses. Players doing wrong is wrong, but I absolutely despise a team winning illicitly.

Gores

July 1st, 2011 at 4:20 PM ^

Come on down buddy!!! I know someone from your family is reading this. We all forgive you and welcome you with open arms. We assume you'd prefer playing in a bowl game during your career so we'll keep a spot open for ya! Everyone makes mistakes...

animals77

July 1st, 2011 at 4:34 PM ^

In my opinion, no one should see this as a shocker.  Chip Kelly's first year he started getting the attention of some elite players (whether or not they actually committed to Oregon).  As an unknown coach coming to a just above average traditional team there should not be this much interest from many elite players to go to Oregon.  Sure, there is the colorful child-like colors on the jerseys, but 2-4 consecitive years of 9-12 wins would be the norm way to build a powerhouse that would attract a ton of top-notch recruits. 

bluewave720

July 1st, 2011 at 6:17 PM ^

to the two guys sitting in front of me at the '07 Oregon game.  Fat and outta shape 20 something guy had on a shirt that said "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LOST TO APP ST!!!"  The older man, presumably his father, kept telling me to be quiet every time I cheered appropriately (for the first 4 minutes of the game), then proceeded to blow a duck kazoo essentially nonstop for the next 3 straight hours. 

"Ha ha, is that your first lead of the season?" they asked me after we scored our TD.

To you two fucking pricks, I hope you enjoy this and the all the fallout.  Quack.   

Tater

July 1st, 2011 at 8:24 PM ^

It's bad for the game when people take the issue of cheating and use it as a referendum for whether or not the rules are fair.  I'm not talking about random posters on random threads on random boards such as this one, but MSM writers who influence how others think about the game.  

I have railed against shamateurism for years now, but the bottom line is that three of the four schools that embarrassed Michigan in 2006-2007 knowingly broke rules that they had signed to obey, and gained a competitive advantage in doing so.  Do the rules suck?  Of course they do.  But that doesn't make it OK to break the rules everybody agreed to follow while schools like Michigan are trying to do things correctly.

MIchigan had 15 extra minutes of voluntary stretching a day, but they haven't been buying players, directly or indirectly, since the Ed Martin shenanigans twenty years ago..  Schools that do, especially those that stonewall and obstruct investigations, need to become "poster children" for more severe NCAA enforcement.

The only thing that would be more fun right now would be if the trifecta of USC, Oregon, and Ohio got a fourth member in Appy State.

 

 

turtleboy

July 1st, 2011 at 8:59 PM ^

Blaming the rule is what the guilty party will try to do, because it turns the spotlight away from them. It's just shameless deflection and in no way properly adresses the fairness of the rule or the fairness of the punishment.

turtleboy

July 1st, 2011 at 8:55 PM ^

what a bombshell this is. At first you read it and it seems like little stuff and no big deal, but when Kelly is fired and Oregon is on probation it'll seem more serious in hindsight.

bryemye

July 1st, 2011 at 9:58 PM ^

What sucks is this Lyles guy doesn't seem so great. This whole thing reflects poorly on both parties.

I dearly hope none of the players get in any trouble for this. I don't think they will, just saying.