SAVE US SEC!!! The SEC heads to capital hill to save us all from the negative impacts of NIL
This happened earlier in June and checking the MGoBoard history, I didn't see anything related to this.
The SEC sent their commissioner and a contingent of coaches, including Saban & Kelly, to lobby congress for a national NIL bill because "individual state laws are messing everything up". A handful of other schools and conference commissioners have also courted congress: Arizona Kansas St, Clemson, the ACC and MAC commissioners.
Full story here:
Presented as an effort to protect student-athletes...
Saban was quoted:
"If it's going to be the same for everyone, I think that's better than what we have now," Saban said. "Because what we have now is we have some states and some schools in some states that are investing a lot more money in terms of managing their roster than others."
Ole Miss AD said:
The Ole Miss AD did admit that lobbying for these regulations isn’t just about protecting the student-athletes. It’s also about keeping the SEC competitive in recruiting and on the field against other states that have looser NIL regulations, such as California.
“They understand, one, how important sports are to our state, what an economic driver it is. It’s so big for our state, and so they obviously want us to remain competitive in the SEC and nationally,” Carter confessed.
LSU's Kelly mentioned:
Kelly questioned California's proposed bill, which would require profit sharing with athletes on revenue-producing teams, asking "Where's Title IX in all this? Where's Division II sports? Where's Division III sports?"
If every state is tailoring bills to their own self-interest rather than the health of college athletics as a whole, Kelly said, "That's not going to work."
These quotes came from other articles about the same visit.
While the Big Ten does have a lobbying group (Glover Park Group) dedicated to NIL related matters, I find the juxtaposition of the two major conferences really interesting on this subject.
The SEC would love to have NIL controlled and contained so their bagman programs have relevance again. The Big Ten has remained largely silent. Are they happy to see the playing field leveled somewhat? Probably. I also think the Big Ten doesn't like the current landscape either.
The current NIL situation is probably not sustainable for the entirety of college sports. The proposed California law calls for a pool of money from the revenue generated by the schools to be shared across student athletes of all sports. The SEC definitely does not want this to become the standard. Saban has said he would be fine with players being unionized to be more like the NFL model of collective bargaining. He also doesn't want to pay players from school generated revenue and thinks the cost of their education and athletic services would be their primary payment (at least above the table).
It will be interesting to see where this all goes. It will be a very long movie, but have your popcorn ready as college sports, TV & media, and politicians could easily be pulled into an all out public grudge match to frame and shape the future of college sports.
Good thing SOMEONE is thinking about the kids!!!
Well well well. How the turntables
Saban, aka Mr. Integrity, is now upset that the playing field is leveled. More news at 11.
I wouldn't say it's leveled, but it favors other teams/states instead of his own now. While that's not necessarily great for Michigan, I somehow enjoy it bc it's hurting dirtbag schools that thrived on having illegal advantages in the past.
Such an ignorant statement. Every fan base has em.
🙄
What part of that statement is ignorant?
The one that doesnt support his lord and savior Saint Nick.
Yeah, they don't want anybody else to compete with their cheatin' schools.
They got laughed out of the building. There will be a federal NIL bill but it won't be anything like what Nick Saban/The NCAA wants.
Yes, they did. The SEC overvalued the importance of themselves and their narrow wants.
I wonder about the ability to pass a national NIL bill. As far as I know, the primary person Tommy Tuberville got to cross the aisle to draft a bill is Joe Manchin. I'm not sure many democrats are ready to jump on board for him for something this trivial. I'm sure the SEC can find a handful of congressional representatives to draft something in the house, but I don't think a bill passes on a party line vote in either chamber given the current environment. It will take a bi-partisan effort and this simply doesn't move the needle enough to be worth the effort or public awareness.
The NCAA is basically a moot entity on this subject. That leaves TV/Media as the only other national entity which has a stake in this which could move the needle with lawmakers. I'm not sure they really care beyond top talent going to the teams they want to show on TV and that is already happening.
When the TV networks send their people to meet with and put the pressure on Congress to do something, only then might Congress be inclined to do something.
But you're right, as of now, the networks will wait and see what their income looks like.
We as a fanbase need to be realistic and look to just the last few months to suddenly see the truth that Nick Saban speaks. Facts aside, his sudden success at faraway schools has enriched the lives of many of the best recruits college football has seen the last 20+ years.
As a lifelong UM fan I remember riding Llamas in the Harbaugh backyard growing up like it was part of my imagination. So my veracity is beyond reproach when I say we need to cease this whiny discourse on a man of such virtue and whose masterful innovations have crushed the CFB world while doing so with only middling talent.
You can't buy success.
The one that exists at the moment was written by Tuberville and Manchin (which is to say, Saban because he and Manchin are friends from childhood) and it sucks.
I’m not convinced that Tuberville can actually read or write, any random 12 year old would be a better choice to write a bill.
Here's a fun fact: under the current NCAA NIL policy (which is still technically an "interim policy" that was promulgated in 2021, because the NCAA moves at a glacial pace), the amateurism bylaws are applied to the extent permissible under state laws in states that have NIL statutes, but in states without NIL statutes, the bylaw isn't applied at all. In other words, states without NIL statutes are actually subject to less NCAA oversight, even though the statutes were designed to free the schools from NCAA restrictions. This has resulted in several states in SEC country, including Alabama and Florida, repealing their NIL statutes that were originally passed before the NCAA promulgated its policy.
Ah yes, representatives from the bastion of integrity, the vaunted South Eastern Conference, shall come and protect us all from (checks notes) non-SEC programs being able to pay players in bags of cash for their services.
My favorite part about the southeast is how vehemently performatively "Republican" they are, all while taking in FAR more tax dollars in goverment handouts than they pay in taxes.
I'm not saying I don't want them to get the money, I hope they get the money, so I can tell them "how beautiful this little southern welfare state is!"
The South is complaining about States Rights 🙄 Lmfao
Yet another Lost Cause.
Back to back winning comments there. Take my points.
Going by a lot of these pathetic responses I didn’t realize this site attracted so many of the whining foolish and childish folks in our fan base.
I hang with a large portion of old school Michigan fans. Most of us started following Michigan in the 70’s and 80’s when the Michigan fan base wasn’t so pathetically whiney.
No wonder they don’t hang out on here.
It’s pretty sad.
Complaining about the whininess of a fanbase is, I gotta admit, and interesting tact to take.
But you're right, this site definitely doesn't have enough people who idolize the teams from the 70s and 80s and believe that was the apex of the program. You should really encourage your buddies to share their wisdom with us all.
Is this a troll account? What whining are you talking about?
Realist has an interesting posting history. Seems like a genuine Michigan fan, but spends a lot of time whining about all of the whining on this site.
Michigan Realist is to Saban/Alabama what the NCAA is to Saban/Alabama.
Type of guy that sees everything right with penalizing stretching and cheeseburgers and nothing wrong with number 1 classes for 15 consecutive years.
Real middle of the road realist.
Please, tell us more!
the hypocrisy of whining about other people whining is palpable
I hang with a large portion of old school Michigan fans. Most of us started following Michigan in the 70’s and 80’s when the Michigan fan base wasn’t so pathetically whiney.
Well, I also hang with a large portion of old school Michigan fans. Most of us started following Michigan in the 70's and 80's and they are so pathetically whiney.
If the internet was a thing in the 70's and 80's people would be whiney. Everyone now has an outlet.
Oh we reached the part where some crotchety asshat gets into his feels to bitch about other peoples opinions not aligning with his own? Why not just keep it to yourself and be confident in your opinion? Weird flex, but you do you.
#InternetFlameWarsAreSoFucking2008
seems fitting, but with the roles reversed. darth vadar and the empire seeking help...
This topic makes me both smile and seek admonishment.
For a guy that's the head of a historically corrupt program in a historically corrupt conference and has had more success than any team ever over a decade and a half....
Saban sure does bitch a lot.
Saban and Kelly are not afraid of the Big Ten. They are afraid of the state of Texas. If you leave it to the states, UT and TAMU are going to crush the rest of SEC. No one will be able to compete if Texas legislators create NIL opportunities favorable to UT and TAMU.
"They are afraid of the state of Texas."
Gosh. It would be tragic if inviting the Texas schools led to the demise of the old SEC.
RIP
Texas killed the sw conference, killed the b12 and now are in the sec because the b10 said no to their bs several times…. Who could ever see it coming where Texas sets everything to their favor against everyone else. And who could see it coming that Alabama the king of cheating in cf is crying about it….
It’s a good thing that coaching and development play a factor in school selection.
I agree that the Texas (oil) money cannon is huge. But, the players on those rosters need to be developed - and - a winnable game plan / execution still play a role in a team’s success.
Will Meyer be coaching A&M or Texas?
Wouldn't be surprised to see Meyer turn up at either a&m or austin. Also wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't try to wrangle himself back as hc at osu, esp if Day loses again..
Did Warde secure MSU as a protected rival? These are the things that really matter.
They want to use the federal government to create a cartel to suppress the value of athlete compensation. This from the same people who say they are against government regulation. Congress should no more regulate college athlete compensation as they should professional athlete compensation. Let the stakeholders (athletes, schools, and maybe media companies) negotiate.
Not one person in congress should give a flying pile of poo about college football but because they’re all worthless piles of poo themselves, they’ll jump on right in
OF COURSE THETY ARE....PUH LEEZE for Decades the SEC has been paying players and now with NIL that advanage is disappearing...Give me a Break
I don't think the SEC itself has been paying players, but rather individual school bagmen, whether coordinated or not. And to be fair, while that may be the devil they know, I suspect they were always doing it foremost in competition and FOMA with their fellow SEC rivals, rather than against anybody else.
One of America's biggest problems. I hope we're saved before it's too late.
Nick Saban discussing how unfair recruiting is - and the impact NIL has on opportunities for high school athletes.
What really scares Nick is.. potential demands of Bama football players and prospects. These young men look at Stroud and his Mercedes AMG. Then - they go to Nick and say.. “Coach Saban. I would love a set of wheels like Stroud got at OSU. You own a Mercedes dealership, don’t you? So, don’t you think I deserve an AMG? When can I pick one up?”
Take the above scenario and multiply it.
When players received low (or no) interest Chargers and Challengers it wasn’t a problem for Nick. Now that they may want a Benz, the sky is falling.
Oh the humanity…