I want to say something that needs to be said.
College Sports is a Mess—And the Overcorrection Was Inevitable
College sports is a bit of a mess. Yes. This is true. NIL, the transfer portal (both of which were absolutely needed) and the ensuing lack of governance that has gone with these changes has made a mess of things.
It’s a huge overcorrection to what was becoming exploitation of college athletes, and we can go down the road of that topic for days. But for those of you still living in 1991 who think getting paid with a free education is fair trade, think about EA Sports selling millions of copies of a video game with your kid’s photo on it and your kid not getting a penny from it – you’re telling me you would be cool with that? No, you wouldn’t be. EA Sports makes about a half a BILLION on their college football video game in the first two weeks when they launch each year. In 2025 they put Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, Quinn Ewers of Texas, and Colorado’s Travis Hunter’s photos right on the cover to help generate those sales.
But that’s not what I’m concerned with for this piece.
What I don’t like in the NIL era is the idea that student athletes are open season for criticism at a new level simply because they are able to share in the revenue being generated by their efforts for their school. I reject that idea completely. You can pay an 18 year old a million dollars. You can pay them 5 million. You can pay them 50 million. Heck you can pay them a billion and you know what won’t change?
Their age. They’ll still just be 18.
The $.50 Lemonade: Money Doesn’t Buy Maturity In The NIL Era
I loved making homemade lemonade with my kids when they were younger. It was fun – great memories! But what if your little lemonade maker gets paid for the lemonade? Is an 8 year old a “professional lemonade maker” because you gave them $.50 for a cup of lemonade in front of their house? Should you rip the child a new asshole online if it’s too sour? If the kid completely fails at lemonade is there NO EXCUSE for it? This might be an extreme example to illustrate the point but do you get it? Think back to when you were 18 if you can (or 20, or 22). I’d like to think I was a good kid at 18. I was responsible, thoughtful, mature, polite. I competed my ass off and I worked my ass off. The second half of my high school senior year I took “senior excuse” with no classes during first or second hour so I could wake up to go to the gym for two hours to lift before 3rd hour. In the afternoon after school I ran track. I was determined to be ready when I got to Michigan. But guess what – when I got to Michigan and turned 18 I wasn’t fully ready. And I also did some stupid crap. Really stupid. You know why? Because I WAS EIGHTEEN.
No amount of money would have changed that if I played in the NIL era. I’ve been to many events at Schembechler Hall including mentoring dinners to meet the current players and talk about life, careers and entrepreneurship in addition to football. And lo and behold I’ve discovered that these dudes are still just kids. Kids who want to be great, want to learn, want to experience college, want to work hard and play hard with their friends just like we did when we weren’t getting paid. They aren’t going to become “super teens” if they are afforded some income for their efforts. They don’t deserve YOUR emotional reaction to dropping a football or missing a read because the grown ups aren’t able to hoard the estimated 100 BILLION-with-a-B dollars that the business of college athletics is worth by some estimates.
So, BACK. THE. F. OFF.
Full stop.
If you get it, drop a comment below. Let’s hear from the folks who actually understand what these kids go through on and off the field.
About the Author
Doug Cohen is a co-founder of Hail Media Group and a former University of Michigan football player, playing OLB, majoring in Psychology and graduating in 1992. He writes and speaks on college sports culture, digital media, and the evolving landscape of modern athletics. When he isn’t writing about sports culture, he publishes music snobbery and history commentary over at m10social.com.
