There’s no going back now. The cat’s out of the bag.
It’s only going to get worse from here.
The money that is being spent to put a big-time college football team together is staggering. Once the genie called Name, Image and Likeness popped out of the bottle, the chaos it created has caused the world to go mad.
Deep-pocketed donors have proliferated the arms race that doesn’t seem to have an end in sight anytime soon. It’s the Wild, Wild West. Essentially, there are no restrictions and hardly a guardrail in sight.
We’re in the midst of a two-week stretch, the open period for the transfer portal, when a lot of young men are getting really, really rich for playing a game that used to have participation hinge on the cost of tuition and room and board.
Heck, I’m old enough to remember when college athletes were fighting for a small stipend to be able to do laundry and maybe get a pizza on Friday night.
Now, the numbers are staggering.
All the schools that want to compete at the highest level have their sugar daddies. Tennessee has the Haslem family. Indiana gets its influx of cash from Mark Cuban. Texas Tech has oil magnate Cody Campbell.
Every school within the elite stratosphere has one. Or two. Or a bunch.
The market value for position groups is staggering, according to research by CBS Sports.
Quarterback
High end: $3.5 million
Average: $1.5 million to $2.5 million
Low end: $750,000 to $1 million
Running back
High end: $1 million
Average: $400,000 to $700,000
Low end: $250,000
Wide receiver
High end: $1 million to $2 million
Average: $500,000 to $800,000
Low end: $300,000 to $500,000
Tight end
High end: $600,000 to $800,000
Average: $300,000 to $500,000
Low end: $200,000 to $300,000
Offensive tackle
High end: $1 million
Average: $500,000 to $1 million
Low end: $300,000 to $500,000
Interior offensive line
High end: $600,000 to $800,000
Average: $300,000 to $500,000
Low end: $200,000 to $300,000
Defensive edge
High end: $1 million to $1.7 million
Average: $600,000 to $1 million
Low end: $300,000 to $500,000
Defensive tackle
High end: $800,000 to $1.5 million
Average: $500,000 to $700,000
Low end: $250,000 to $500,000
Linebacker
High end: $700,000
Average $250,000 to $500,000
Low end: $150,000 to $250,000
Cornerback
High end: $800,000 to $1 million
Average: $400,000 to $700,000
Low end: $150,000 to $350,000
Safety
High end: $700,000 to $1 million
Average: $350,000 to $500,000
Low end: $200,000 to $350,000
Specialists
General range: $50,000 to $200,000
Yes, even specialists — kickers, punters and long snappers — have a general range of money that can secure their services.
The money will keep getting crazier and the players — and their agents — will keep getting richer until someone steps in gets the market under control.
Don’t look for the schools to regulate themselves. That would take way too much self control to expect out of the competitors in the middle of the fray.
Indiana has gone from the outhouse (since 1967) to the penthouse (the last two years) thanks to 56 portal acquisitions. This is uncharted water. How a program flourishes — and then maintains — while using older, experienced players will be put to the test.
Nobody transfers, and gets paid to transfer, to be a backup. But, the fact of the game is that there are only 22 starting positions. Some players will have to wait their turn, though the portal seems to have taken patience and the concept of player development out of the equation.
A coach who has succeeded at the junior college level would probably be able to navigate the portal. At that level, rosters are constantly turning over. One-and-done players are more the rule than the exception.
There’s nothing long term about college football today. What have you done for me lately? If a guy’s not happy one season, oh well. Back in the portal he goes.
Something needs to happen before things get really outrageous.