I just thought of something the other day that may be a stretch, but could it hold water for a short while?: The big conversation is about paying NCAA athletes and that the NCAA makes a ton of money off their athletes yet "all they get is a full ride scholarship."
What about this: Without the NCAA, what exposure would these athletes be getting? They are on TV every single weekend and talked about in every form of print media. Look at all the other levels of college sports. Division II, Division III, NAIA, Junior College, etc. What exposure do those levels get compared to the D-1 athletes? Nothing even close. Which in turn makes a big difference in their chances of making big money as a pro, let alone even getting recognition to have a shot at the next level.
Would some of these players be getting $100 million contracts if the NCAA wasn't as big as it is? What's easier for a pro scout? Seeing Andrew Luck every Saturday night on TV, or traveling 1000's of miles looking at a mid-major prospect?
1 comment:
I don't think there's any doubt that if football wasn't so huge that you would have something like baseball's minor league system, which is much less efficient at generating fan interest.
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