Ole Miss Football: It’s Time to Revolutionize the NCAA

Amateurism is Dead

Dead, I tell you. Amateurism is an old idea. At least the NCAA’s definition of Amateurism is. We should nuke the old definition of amateurism and start from scratch to make the definition fit the current decade.

Allow Athletes to Get Endorsement Deals

Ole Miss Rebels Football

The vast majority of NCAA student-athletes are just simply playing because they love the game, so they will give it their all every game out.

Yes, some athletes are simply using college as a means to an end. Of course, that end is to go pro in their respective sport. However, a minute fraction of student-athletes will actually make a living playing the sport they love.

Let’s be honest, football, soccer, baseball, golf, basketball, and hockey are the only sports you can make a living doing. Softball, lacrosse, etc don’t have professional leagues playing large salaries. You will not be able to support your family for life as a softball player unless your name is, say, Jennie Finch.

The athletes, however, could get a jump-start on life if they are allowed to sign endorsement contracts. Also, the contracts would be able to teach life lessons. Say an athlete gets a DUI or something, his contract would possibly be terminated.

Of course, the endorsement contracts should be easily available, and subject to FOIA, to the public for reasons. The main one is to combat one major argument: bigger schools with richer boosters will pay more and create even more of a recruiting advantage.

My answer to that is simple, let them. Let them be the yahoo that pays some kid a million dollars to help his school win games. Everyone will know that person is an idiot, and we can enjoy laughing at them together.

Endorsement Examples

With that being said, the popularity of the athletes, while in college, is often at its peak. There are great examples of smaller sport athletes being stars in their respective college town and fan base. An example at Ole Miss include softball pitcher, Kaitlin Lee.

Lee took the sports world by storm this year during the Rebels run to an SEC championship and Super Regional appearance. Despite the sheer mountain of popularity she has gained, Ole Miss will , rather unfortunately, probably be the final stop on her softball journey.

Knowing this, why shouldn’t she be able to cash in on her superior talent and enormous popularity to the Ole Miss fan base and most softball fans across the country. Let some companies throughout Oxford and the state of Mississippi use her to generate business, while she makes money off the endorsements.

Another example is Bo Wallace after Ole Miss beat Alabama in 2014. His popularity was sky-high and he was never going to be an NFL quarterback. Why not let him benefit while he can?

Pay The Kids

College athletics were founded on the premise of amateurism, I get that. Allow me to let you in on a secret, amateurism past high school is ridiculous.

I’ve already mentioned how a good number of athletes are from borderline poverty, or worse. Expecting their families to fund them through college is difficult, especially when many are not on scholarships. Of the 280,000 athletes in Division’s I & II, only about 150,000 are on scholarship. Most of the 150,000 scholarships are only partial, so kids and their families are still left to foot a bill.

So, if you aren’t going to give every athlete a scholarship, then you should be helping the student-athletes purchase necessities such as food and water. And yes, I know they have team meals, that is not a good argument, however.