83 Comments

The whole.collective thing needs to be shut down now. It's a pay to play system not an opportunity to make money via their NIL. If unchecked, it will wreck probably 1/2 (at least) of D1 FBS. Unless you want college football to be an SEC/B1G super league, don't support this madness.

I love college football but I am almost to the point where I think the universities should shut it all down. Without the branding of the schools this is nothing but a junior league that would not survive. Everybody is hyper focused on how the schools use the kids and forget that they are also using the schools.

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And to clarify: I am fine with a student athlete coming in, earning a spot, performing well and getting opportunities to make some money from an outside entity that wants to pay them to rep something, sign an autograph, use their NIL in a copyright product, etc. etc. They earned that.

In contrast, having boosters pay a kid millions of dollars as a recruiting tactic? This just opens up all kinds of problems. It is a destabilizing force and it seems well outside the bounds of the stuff guys like Ed O'Bannon had a beef with.

When it comes to money it is crazy how you can get Americans always to side with $$$, even when it is in their own disinterest. I have said before, if you like this as a Cal fan, you are a masochist...and you can kiss what we had goodbye.

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I have sincere doubts about whether Rashada would ever attend CAL. After his hunt for NIL $$ and the commitment to Miami, which he pulled and then signing with Florida, it's pretty clear he wants two things: to play for a good or up and coming team, and as much NIL money as he can get. At this point whether it's him or bad advisors, you can't trust him to be a team guy to help build a program. He's going to jump whenever he thinks he can do better somewhere else. Even the NFL doesn't allow guys to move every year for more money. I say let him be someone else's problem. He hasn't even proven he can play at the P5 level yet.

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The young man has lost sight of what college football is all about: It is not the best NIL deal that matters, but where he wants to graduate from to secure this future with future job interviews for real employment.

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Most 5-star kids don’t think in terms of a quality degree that will look good on their future resume. It’s NFL or bust.

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The UF-related collective mentioned here: https://gatorcollective.com/

A Cal-related collective: https://calegends.com/

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Hard pass.

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Zach Johnson's entered the portal too so there's another open QB spot...

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I feel like he's looking at Cal because none of the big players want to touch him right now, he's a bit radioactive. If he's actually looking at Cal/UW/ASU/CU -- none being schools known for their NIL -- he's probably looking for a place where he can break out and reset his market in a year or two.

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Colorado? As if Deion would play him in front of his own kid looking for NIL.

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Not surprisingly, the only schools actually known for their NIL are the schools that have been paying players for decades…USC, tOSU, Miami, and the SEC. Everyone else is playing catch-up.

UW, ASU and Colorado are all more attractive options than Cal, and it’s really not close. Better teams, better coaches, better NIL deals…this kid is not even worth the headache, though.

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You speak in declaratives but it's arguable that ASU or CO are "more attractive" options. Such a subjective thing. Even from a pure football perspective, ASU has been a football shit show and you live in Phoenix for pete's sake. Miserable place. CO has been a shit show and you live far from the ocean (I tried it, and came back). Neither have comparable academics or cultural surroundings. It's just more nuanced and multi-faceted than a simple declaration. Young men choose where to go not just on last year's records. We are keeping Jayden Ott, perhaps the top returning RB in the conference, and one of the top in the nation, because he assesses the overall Cal situation as superior to anyone anywhere is offering him.

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They’re absolutely more attractive football options, with higher NIL capabilities and a more conducive athletic culture. Saying ASU and Colorado have been schitt shows while not acknowledging the last 36 months of Cal football is rich. Gimme a break.

Also, claiming kids go to school for any number of reasons, then questioning why anyone would choose Phoenix for Pete’s sake or away from the ocean is just laughably silly. Tempe is a great college town and Boulder is f-ing beautiful.

And Jayden Ott is getting a majority of our NIL funds, so he’s got plenty of reasons to stay in Berkeley, at least this year.

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You live here and make comments so consistently that disparage all things Cal and extol the virtues of other Pac12 schools. How do you expect a group of Cal fans to respond to your constant negativity? It's not about realism, or honesty. Plenty here realistically criticize this or that about Cal, but don't fundamentally consider all things Cal horrible and everywhere else a paradise. For you to claim you see things objectively, is absurd. You could at least admit your strident bias.

What evidence do you have for your claims? Do you have any data whatsoever that ASU and CO have more NIL funds? Put up or keep quiet about that. What evidence do you have that Ott is receiving a majority of our NIL funds? You have no evidence, so your claims are easily disregarded.

Cal has its share of challenges, as do other schools. We remain the top public university in the world, in a premier place to live on the West Coast, with a richness and diversity of culture, arts and natural areas to stand out among most. I've lived in most every area of the Pac12 envelope, and the Bay Area is uniquely packed with options for outdoor and indoor fun.

People love going to Cal, graduating from Cal. Young football players do too.

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Look, there are different schools of fandom - your rah-rah, ostrich's-head-in-the-sand approach to Cal football is fine, good for you. To be honest, your Pollyanna schtick can get a little annoying as it's mostly unrealistic given the current Cal climate, but I don't jump on your posts and badmouth them. For various reasons, many on this board see things differently from you as they pertain to the Cal football program under Justin Wilcox and the direction the team is headed under the current administration. We love Cal just as much as you do. Personally, I do not consider everywhere else a paradise, with Berkeley being garbage. But you just took a schitt on Phoenix and Boulder as if they're garbage, void of culture and are simply inferior, and I called you on it, because it was your opinion...I'm giving mine. Guess what, no one gives a crap about yours or my opinion.

The Bay Area is amazing, and Cal is a great school. No one is denying that - I am not saying otherwise. Nor do I do extol the virtues of other P12 programs, just the ones that saw a problem within their football programs and made moves to correct the issue with unique and innovative hires, in this instance schools like Washington, like ASU, like Colorado. I wish Cal would do the same, because statistics say there is a problem. Plus, my initial quote was in reference to Rashada, specifically, which I think you missed entirely.

And I say plenty of positive things about Cal football, when they do positive things, which unfortunately has been rare of late...you never respond to those, though, dude. You just cherry pick the things I say that fit your narrative and jump in there to paint me out as some anti-Cal dude, which is silly. I'm the farthest thing from an anti-Cal dude there is. So fans can't be critical of anything? Is that your stance? Fine. I'll gladly admit an anti-Justin Wilcox bias...I think he is better suited as a coordinator, like plenty of other coaches, specifically those with defensive pedigrees...I think he struggles with managing a program, coaching hires, recruiting, player retention, game planning/preparation, in-game adjustments...6 years of evidence tells me this. I think there are other coaches out there that would love to the lead the Cal program and would do a better job.

I don't just make things up out of nowhere...I have plenty of sources at Cal, and other P12 schools, just as you likely do, as many others do. You keep quoting the positives of Cal like I am unaware of them. Of course it's a fantastic place, so get over yourself. I never said otherwise. I've lived a lot of places too - you know what, I think ALL of them have something unique to bring to the table.

Look, this is the second time you've come at me with issues as to my opinions of the Cal revenue sports on a Cal athletics message board. These are all my opinions, and when I have information as to some things, like Phoenix-area alums and what they're throwing into NIL collectives from industry sources, I say something about it. But I don't jump on every one of your posts to point out things I disagree with...maybe it's best if we just stay out of each other's business and respect the fact that at the end of the day, we both love Cal AND the Bay Area and want the teams to succeed, which we do. We just have different ways of expressing that passion.

As usual, GO BEARS...if we ever meet, I would honestly bet that we'd get along swimmingly. I'm hoping to head to the UW game - I'll buy you a drink and we'll toast Oski.

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January 21, 2023Edited
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So there are multiple ways, Bob.

Some players are marketable enough simply on their own to negotiate specific deals, like Caleb Williams did with Beats by Dre at SC, or LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne with athletic clothing giant Vuori…but those are less common.

Sometimes a wealthy booster will bankroll individual sports, or specific players even, like Wasserman at UCLA.

Other times you get the general collective, which are independent entities that accumulate booster funds and enter into contracts with college athletes for their NIL usage.

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UCLA seems to be adapting quite well...

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UCLA has Wasserman, who's known to be basically funding the whole thing.

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Look, don't think he will come to Cal.

But out out of Colorado, ASU, and Washington, Cal is the only one where he has a chance to start this Fall.

Now, I'm VERY high on Sam. But if Rashada beats out Sam and starts this Fall. It's not a bad thing. What happens after this fall doesn't matter now. With NIL and Transfer portal, teams have the opportunity to practically field a new team every year.

We need a breakout year, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

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2024 will be that year. Bowl bound…hopefully Sun.

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Why u gotta get my hopes up

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Mixed feelings here. Can't begrudge the guy for taking the money. But I am just not sure if Cal is the place for high value NIL. Potentially it could be but both Cal and Stanford do not have rabid fans in the tens of thousands other than us diehards on this and a couple other discussion boards. The financial pipeline to the tech industry needs to be built...

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All you've done is gotten some good people around here very upset.

-Local sheriff to federal agent with fancy degree

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Someone go get Musgrave and money quick!

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Best wishes to the young man to get whatever money he can, whenever and wherever he can. I take a pass at Cal. In the new era, we still need players who have some affection for Cal and see their main payday in the NFL if they are so good. I still wish there was more writing about the NIL money different schools have. What does Cal have? What does SC have? How do they all compare? All I see is speculation.

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I foresee NIL caps in the future.

I had no idea that NIL could mean this kind of money. It’s disgusting. Honestly, hate to preach, but it’s the root of all evil. Watch players ruin themselves because they hit the lottery.

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Absolutely. Or at least different divisions, as eventually the schools with major NIL collectives are going to bury those that are light.

There is so little oversight as well that the playing field is far from level.

$13M is just ridiculous.

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I wouldn't be mad if he came to Cal even if it was just for 1 year. He won't be getting anything remotely near $13M, though. And Wilcox will have to prove he can actually develop a backup QB into a starter. Just, whatever we do, stay as far away from doing anything sanctionable. The NCAA is mostly toothless now but I don't think we'll shrug them off as easily as other programs.

If he was a significant legal or academic risk then that's obviously a sign to stay away. But leveraging your talent for money (and backing out of sketchy deals) is just part of being a pro athlete.

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Wilcox can’t develop quarterbacks and never pretended to be able to. Now, Spav on the other hand…

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Spav's track record is good. He'd be the first Wilcox OC to actually build depth at the position.

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Spav now needs someone other than johnny manziel on his resume

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From the old googenator:

"Spavital has recruited and worked with several high-profile quarterbacks who later played in the NFL: Will Grier (West Virginia), Case Keenum (Houston), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), Kyler Murray (Texas A&M), Geno Smith (West Virginia) and Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State)".

This doesn't even list the great DAVIS WEBB lol.

Sure these guys aren't all rockstars in the league, but they performed well enough in college to make it there. Spav has a pretty decent resume as far as QB development.

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That's a good list. More concise than Wikipedia.

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Thatsbait.gif

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Come on guys, stop dogging the guy for accepting a $13M offer. Literally 100% of all of you would have taken that deal. Let's just be real here. I would've not only taken $13M, I would've taken $1.3M, lol.

Now I agree I'd rather we spend NIL on Oline and he likely won't come to Cal, but there's no need to cast moral judgments on him.

Good luck to him and I hope he gets his money! I also hope NIL gets restructured to be more fair for all players e.g., maybe there are caps so money gets distributed to more players. But anyway, good for him. Hope he gets paid, good luck to him whereever he goes and if he were to come to Cal I'd be rooting for him... although to be honest, I'm pretty stoked on SamJack.

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Oh, dude, I would re-enroll right now if I was going to get that money! No intent to dog him at all; that is life changing.

But just purely from Cal’s POV, I just don’t see this really panning out. Seems unlikely he would come here at all, and even if he did it would probably be just for one year as a true freshman. He’s not like a polished Davis Webb coming in where we know he will be really good right away. Given all that I think we are probably best off focusing our efforts elsewhere.

But watch him come here and I will be like “Rashada 4 Eva!!!!” Sports! It doesn’t have to make sense

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I agree! For Cal, doesn't look like a high probability scenario. And agree that focus should be elsewhere like #hogsforspav. Wasn't there supposed to be some announcement on this? Fingers crossed!

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One other point, if he signed a legally binding contract, I'd assume that he would be awarded damages from his lawsuit based on the gap in NIL money. So maybe he comes to Cal anyway, since he'd be getting paid damages against NIL gap. Depends on how strong his lawsuit is.

Maybe there's a slight chance in which he gets to go to the school he wants AND gets paid.

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Good point, but it won’t be resolved in the courts for a very long time.

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How do these deals work though, is that a fixed payment or is it some estimate of what he might generate in income on their platform? If a fixed amount, then he is good shape. If the latter, then seems speculative, not as strong

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I guess the collective is like a platform that connects payors (eg, businesses that want athletes for a sponsorship) with payees (athletes)? But say you were Bryce Young and Pepsi offered you an endorsement deal - I don’t see any need to involve a collective, right?

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Collectives are associated with a school (unofficially). This is due to NCAA rules that say schools may not directly pay athletes. So basically collectives are third parties aligned with individual schools that allow boosters to pay players in return for playing for their school.

In the Pepsi example you cited, no collective needed because it’s a third party wanting to pay the athlete for an endorsement; more in the spirit of “name, image, likeness” than a straightforward pay-to-play.

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law suit would drag out for years, he wants his mula and he wants it now. rightfully so if that what the market is fetching for his services.

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They'd probably settle to get it behind them as quickly as possible.

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It is the collective not UF that he would be suing. I doubt they (the collective) want to settle. Either way they (the collective) will drag it out if it comes to that. University of Florida has NOTHING to do with this!!

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Yes, it is the collective that is on the hook. That makes no difference. They don’t want an ongoing lawsuit while trying to sign contracts with prospects, that is a very bad look. Assuming they have some liability, it is in the collectives interest to get this behind them ASAP. I assume that is part of the reason UF let Rashada out if his NLI so quickly.

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