Reggie Bush says paying athletes could "destroy some people."
Happy Memorial Day, everyone. As you all know, there's been an ongoing discussion about allowing college athletes to make some money in addition to their scholarships. I found this take by Reggie Bush ... amazing. Not even sure where to start ...
Redacted after realizing it was in bad taste
If you read through it I think he raises a valid concern; some 18 and 19 year olds stand to make good money because of this and many of them may have no clue financially or emotionally how to handle it.
Yes, I get the irony of Bush raising this point but think of how many pro athletes go bust each year (watch Broke sometime). I think he’s just raising some legitimate points in good faith.
This is true. Whether they are in college or signing their first pro contract they need help making sure they do the right things with their money. He isn't saying they shouldn't get paid, just that they won't all handle their new found wealth correctly.
Could it be held in escrow until the finish their college playing careers?
This!
I am in favor of this. College money from use of image, etc, should be put in an escrow they can claim when they lose/forfeit eligibility. If they do it on a formula, Contributions for all athletes of money generating sports would get a certain amount based on AD revenues, including TV. The more play time the athlete gets, the greater the contribution. An unheralded 3-star who breaks out in college might make more money than a 5-star bust, which would be fair since it's performance-based (which means the transfer portal would very much remain in play).
It can be treated like a short-term 401K, where the athletes can login to check the value of their account any time. And just like colleges provide academic counselors, someone could be provided to assist with financial advice to wisely use the funds.
Heck, if the AD is good it could be placed in a safe investment so that it could continue accruing interest after they lose eligibility. The athlete could use it as a rainy day fund or startup money for a business, etc.
I get the escrow appeal but it’s fairly paternalistic to me.
Many families can use the help now, too. We might actually see more degrees completed if fringe pros can help out at home while still playing in college.
We might actually see more degrees completed if fringe pros can help out at home while still playing in college.
That's a good point. If you're a good, but not surefire elite NFL prospect, college player who's looking at leaving with a year of eligibility left and a late round NFL projection an extra $100K right now to play out your college career might actually make a difference.
Absolutely this. These are adults. They earn the money, they should be able to decide how to spend it.
i know lots of well educated people who are terrible with money and lots of people who are corrupted by it. The idea that we have to protect people from their own money because they are college football players is atrocious to me. Hell, most of them are already getting paid.
Hookers and blow.
It is a little paternalistic, but I also think it's a good compromise that can benefit the athlete. Consider this quote from Bush in the article:
People just assume, ‘Well, you got all this money, so you’re good.’ It’s actually the opposite. The more money you have, the more danger you’re in. Because now you’re a freaking open target for a lot of people. It’s a nasty world out there, and it’s about to get nastier. You’re going to really start to see the true colors of a lot of people, and a lot of businesses too. You’re going to see people doing some crazy stuff to make money, because our market is crashing.
If there isn't a structured way to handle the payments and maintain transparency, there's going to be all kinds of money men and hangers-on around athletes on campus that will distract them even more than they are. If we want to have some thread of 'student' as a prefix for the athlete, then some form of structure needs to be provided while they play on campus.
Basically, would you more trust Warde to make sure the money is handled, or one of the many sharks swimming around these young athletes? And it could be an excellent selling point to recruits, where in addition to having a large market for maximum earnings, our AD has smart Ross graduates to make sure their earnings have greatest possible value when they want to leave and cash out.
Seriously. Yes. People respond to incentives. Give them the incentive to finish school. "Hey, we are going to pay for your room and board, books, food, and some walking around money. You need to show up long enough to get a degree, and then you're going to get cut a much bigger check, still have a chance to be a professional athlete, and have a better shot at a regular guy's career". This.
Pro sports has had a few financial disasters (thinking of Antoine Walker and his nine figures at the moment), yes, but big money has been available to recent (or relatively recent) high school graduates in the sports of baseball, hockey, and basketball for many years. What would be different about football?
To put it another way, there's nothing new here that would justify Bush's hyperbolic language. It's of course hilarious that *he* got paid.
Oh, and the elephant in the room: SEC guys (and others, to some extent) are *already* getting paid.
Did he get paid? I thought he just got a house and gifts, not as much cash. I am sure he got some cash, but that was not the bulk of the money. He is definitely not wrong. The NFL, NBA, and other leagues spend a lot of money on this issue. There are certainly examples in and out of sports of how this goes badly, so it seems as an area the NCAA needs to plan for and probably one good reason to wait a year to do it.
That said, I suspect the vast majority of players are going to get very small incomes from this advancement and it won’t be a huge issue.
Yeah, I think you're on the right track. To add to this thought, it's probably harder to give player's guidance on how to handle money when the money is paid under the table. If you see the 4-star driving around campus in a new BMW, in the current environment you're not asking him how he paid for it, nor will you have a good feel whether he really has the money for the BMW. That conversation is always going to be awkward, but it's still easier if the money is above-board.
You mean you don't remember when Zion Williamson signed a contract for millions at 19 years of age and everyone talked about how terrible that was for him?
He was young and screwed up. Now he advises young guys in the same situation not to do what he did. How is that absurd and laughable?
However, it is absurd to think it is hypocritical to advise people not to make the same mistake you did.
Requiring trustees and fiduciary advisors could be a big help, IMO. I would have blown the cash if I had gotten it at 18. With the right help, the money could make for a fun college experience but also set players up for lasting success, regardless of their football careers.
The reality is that a large percentage of 18yo kids—athletes or not—would make some very bad and self destructive choices if given a pile of cash without guidance or restrictions.
That said, the NCAA could turn this into an educational opportunity and help the student athletes learn how manage their brand, business, and finances instead of trying to make it difficult for the players to earn cash.
Let me be clear: I’m not saying I think paying the players is a bad idea or inherently destructive. I’m saying that with some guidance it’s likely to be even better for the players. I would have gambled away that money in college, and trying to help these kids make that money work for them instead of getting sucked away by predators, peers, businesses designed to take advantage of young people and bad decision making, or even family could make NIL even more impactful and make it a learning experience that benefits for a lifetime.
I think back to what I was like at 18, and yeah... Child actors. How many of them turn out ok. Unlimited cash from the start is rarely a good idea.
There is a long way to go in this legislation I believe. Do you require financial advisors? Do you require trusts? What do you do for these kids?
honestly I agree with the concept of making this a learning opportunity and perhaps a way to head off Pro-money self-destruct mode by capturing the audience in learning mode, teaching the investment, management, wares of devious agents (see-Charles Woodson) and make this a win all the way around. What adds to the mess is hiring said 'agents' or guides, or whatever. We have a huge investment in our academic support staff...now we would need to double/equal that with financial support staff...it's not bad, but may have additional causational issues.
Ironcially my kids just had this similar discussion with their own personal non-NIL issues as freshmen in college. They said they enrolled in so many classes that had little life impact, and having a finance, student loan, banking, investing, etc class at some point would make more sense. Our high school discouraged personal finance math because it did not meet NCAA requirement for graduation. We had one kid fall one credit short from academic eligibility due to that class...maybe it's a class structure thing, but how does ceramics better prepare a kid?
If only they had some sort of educational institutional support to supplement the money.
That's true, but most of the financial arrangements proposed aren't in lieu of making more money at the pro level. Could it cause some issues for kids with poor money management? Sure. But it's not like athletes aren't already receiving under-the-table benefits like Reggie Bush did, and most haven't submarined teams or destroyed their lives. And the alternative is that the money continues to go to the same old men who run the NCAA and the athletic departments across the country.
Again, the debate about paying players will never end until they at least try it and see what happens. At this point big-time college athletics is already "broken" to a lot of people, and so at worst this just breaks it more and, in the process, provides some financial respite to the athletes who are instrumental in generating those billions.
So the solution is to just not pay them? Maybe there can be some sort of deferred payment system where they receive the money after they finish their degree?
Irony?
Bush's take is completely tone deaf and delusional.
He, err rather this family, helped bring USC down... and Bush is taking about destruction?!
<Insert Jim Mora "playoffs" or Iverson "practice" gifs here>
They deserve money. And they should have an option to escrow or have financial help. But it shouldn’t be required. If they want to go drop 20k at the strip club, that’s their option.
True, and he would know.
Mo money mo problems?
He's absolutely right. He's not saying not to pay them, he's saying many of the kids won't know how to handle it and that more money doesn't mean fewer problems. You can be for paying them and also recognize that paying them also creates other issues.
agreed. And while most here acknowledge bagman mentality...now that you open up NIL endorsement opportunity with the estimates some college players stand to potentially make...lets face it, a number of the most gifted athletes come from some rather dire backgrounds and handing a kid with no concept of money is ripe for financial disaster. Look at NFL/NBA/MLB MEN who blow money on anything and everything and end up a train wreck.
Some may invest the money into projects like community gardens and do some incredible charitable things...some may invest in their own self destruction.
For those who won't read the article, Bush's point isn't what the headline wants you to believe. He's making a valid argument that kids who don't have a good foundation in place will get themselves in a tough spot now that they have money. He's not arguing that they shouldn't get it, but speaking from his own personal experience.
A fool and his money are soon parted
And most of us are fools at 18
Tis better to have been rich and lost rather than never to have been rich at all.
Rosebud.
Foolish 18 year olds make foolish 28 year olds. No excuses for the wise or foolish
The bagmen would be in the unemployment line, right?
I don't see anything wrong with that opinion. Perhaps Bush is better suited to know the dangers of it than most and he's 15 years older now. Some guys getting a big check at 18 will have no clue how to handle that new found wealth - not saying they shouldn't per se, but for some guys it'll be just like how they do with their NFL checks at 21-22 but 3 years less mature than that
Not even “some guys.” The proportion of 18 year olds who wouldn’t be stupid when handed $250,000 is vanishingly small. I would have blown all the money or killed myself with it.
I know plenty of middle-class 35 year olds who would be incredibly stupid if given 250k.
The full quote in the article is pretty valid in my opinion. I don't see him arguing against paying the players, just warning that young athletes with a large sum of money are ripe to be taken advantage of. I think he's correctly pointing out how important it is for us to give them the right financial guidance so they don't squander potential income in college.
It says something that he went to a premier football school and was highly drafted in the NFL, with all the support he likely received on both cases, and still feels like he wasn't prepared. I was certainly not prepared to handle my finances when I was 22 either. We should focus more in our education system on basic financial literacy: budgeting, spending/saving, taxes, interest, etc. It doesn't have to be complicated to have a big impact. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that would be best taught by parental example, which many are not capable of doing at this point.
Basic financial literacy classes would indeed be good. Some states have this requirement in high school, but others do not. Many have it as a simple elective.
Of course, the seemingly best example for some people would be our government being prudent, living within its means, taxing accordingly and providing transparent accounting. None of those things occur. Instead the government keeps the populace (or much of it) ignorant to real money, personal finances, and more...and then state governments seek to fraudulently take more money from our people using lotteries and deceptive advertising.
I don't think Reggie is on the wrong path at all. Putting a lot of money in the hands of young kids with no experience handling it could definitely cause problems. I would also worry about predatory "friends" and "advisors" taking advantage of them.
Or parents even. Financial trusts exist for a reason. A person is much more responsible with money at 25 than they are at 18.
It also ruined a fair few that were older and made the league. Financial literacy isn't a thing most young people have, be they athletes or not. It's just for the rest of us its not as likely to bite us all at once.
He's looking at it all wrong. These fine young men will be stimulating the economy. /s
I think he's wrong in that he applies this just to athletes and those who grew up poor. Really anyone with extreme wealth is prone to financial mismanagement or falling apart. If someone wants to show me evidence that extremely wealthy kids don't waste money on lavish expenses or end up using drugs I'd gladly listen. But as of now I don't believe that just because someone grew up rich doesn't mean they aren't prone to the exact same criticism.
He’s not wrong. He’s just one of the worst options you can use to try and convey this message.
It would be like having to listen to OJ complain about the loopholes in the justice system.
now that is a hot, hot take
My oh my. Is this just now a realization?
Paying the players is a terrible idea.
Making a finite amount on their likeness, ok.
You don't give 18-19 year old's a bunch of cash and not expect bad things to happen.
Most of the kids playing college sports need the degree. They will not be playing pro.
It's worth a shit load of money.
The chosen few who have exceptional talent, sure make money on your likeness to a limit.
But it shouldn't ruin college sports for the "98% who will not go pro after college" folks.
Why is this hard to understand?
As an OL, why the fuck should I bust my ass for a running back so he can make a shitload of money every time I open up a hole for him? Whilst I make diddly shit.
Thanks for sharing this. Great comments by Reggie Bush. Making money is not the end game. Holding and managing your money is. Bush is 100% accurate.
When you factor in that college years are 1,000 times more debaucherous, drunk and drug induced relative to most other years of our lives, I can't imagine what these young 18 year olds are going to be put through on these campuses when they are known, famous millionaires.
Drunk guys will try to pick fights with them to try and get a law suit, and girls will set them up with sexual assault claims, and since they have magnitudes of testosterone coursing their veins, they will inevitably waste their money on booze, drugs and cars to have fun and get laid, and do all the other dumb stuff kids do, except in this case tens of thousands will be pouring out of their ignorant, naive pockets like sieves. Just reality.
Bush's points are very, very valid.
Hey it's America and kids have a right to make money, but if I was in charge I would require that the money they make beyond a certain amount (say, $200K a year) go into untouchable trusts for them to access once they reach 22, with the exception of verified life/family emergencies.