In Depth Interview With Bud Wentz about NIL & Transfer Portal

[Zippy87]

2 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

I also had limited sympathy for the players when they (the ones primarily in the rich programs) said they needed a piece of the revenue pie. When you look at it players get a full ride covering absolutely everything = $120,000 over four years. On top of that they get tutors, gear, nutritionists, medical care and counseling without waiting for an appointment like the rest of the student body. They get cost of living allowances on average about $2,000 per year. On top of that if they come from disadvantaged backgrounds they can get a Pell Grant up to $9,000 per year. I realize the demand on their time is huge, but so is working two jobs to get thru school like I did while playing soccer. NIL needs some sanity. Is the star running back really worth $000K when the linemen blocking for him get little? The very nature of NIL works against teamwork and everyman counts.

 

Ryan Day will make $9.96 million this season – with the potential to go as high as $10.2 million with bonuses. Is he really worth that much?

 

I have zero problem with the athletes who are actually playing the game making some cash. I do think there needs to be better parameters put in, but I've never understood why it's OK for OKish coaches to make millions and jump from job to job but the players should think about the team.

[kreed5120]

6 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

 

Ryan Day will make $9.96 million this season – with the potential to go as high as $10.2 million with bonuses. Is he really worth that much?

 

I have zero problem with the athletes who are actually playing the game making some cash. I do think there needs to be better parameters put in, but I've never understood why it's OK for OKish coaches to make millions and jump from job to job but the players should think about the team.

 

I think this is more about the differences between the haves and have nots. Players like Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M or Joe Burrow at LSU certainly move the needle and made money for their school therefore they should be paid. It's probably realistic for players to get paid at the the top 30-40 or so schools as they're competing at a semi-pro level.

 

When you get to the MAC level, no one player is going to drive 100s of thousands to millions of extra dollars for the school. The MAC is really what amateur athletics is about, but now we're forced to try to spend like a semi-pro team to maintain our status. Using Ali as an example, I'm glad he returned, but him returning didn't directly lead Akron to selling 1000s of extra season tickets.

[zippy5]

56 minutes ago, akzipper said:

 

Bingo. I also worked two jobs while I was at UA and both were internships that paid practically nothing.

Pre NIL, athletes weren't even allowed to have a part-time job. Remember, not everyone is a FB player getting a 100% scholarship. Baseball players, wrestlers, track, VB etc can be on a maybe 10% scholarship and have to fund the rest on their own. At least these guys and girls have another option now

[1981 grad]

6 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

 

I wonder if NIL would allow players to come on as walk-ons officially but still get paid enough to make it worth it to them? 

 

If current players would leave, Lyles, Tavari, or Prather would make the most sense given their potential places on the depth chart. 

The transfer pool closes May 1st.   How do you tell a student to leave when he will not have time to find another program?  Does Groce find him another program?

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 minute ago, 1981 grad said:

The transfer pool closes May 1st.   How do you tell a student to leave when he will not have time to find another program?  Does Groce find him another program?

 

Entering the Portal closes May 1st I believe but finding another program doesn't close. I could be wrong but there are still a couple thousand players in the Portal along with more being added daily. 

[Zippy87]

6 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I think this is more about the differences between the haves and have nots. Players like Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M or Joe Burrow at LSU certainly move the needle and made money for their school therefore they should be paid. It's probably realistic for players to get paid at the the top 30-40 or so schools as they're competing at a semi-pro level.

 

When you get to the MAC level, no one player is going to drive 100s of thousands to millions of extra dollars for the school. The MAC is really what amateur athletics is about, but now we're forced to try to spend like a semi-pro team to maintain our status. Using Ali as an example, I'm glad he returned, but him returning didn't directly lead Akron to selling 1000s of extra season tickets.

 

I'd argue the greatest difference between now and pre-NIL is that now it's just public. Akron was and still is at a significant disadvantage compared to P5 teams. 

[kreed5120]

30 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

 

I'd argue the greatest difference between now and pre-NIL is that now it's just public. Akron was and still is at a significant disadvantage compared to P5 teams. 

 

I'm not talking about necessarily competing with the P5 teams. That ship long sailed. The thing is other G5 and mid-majors are starting collectives so if you don't utilize NIL, you're now not just below the P5 in the pecking order, but also below all the other mid-majors as well. You've now become a low-major. On par with the likes of the MEAC, SWAC, or whatever other cupcake conference that are out there.

[egregiousbob]

Mr. Wentz's skills at hypebole might qualify him as a certain presidential candidate's running mate.

[Let'sGoZips94]

4 minutes ago, egregiousbob said:

Mr. Wentz's skills at hypebole might qualify him as a certain presidential candidate's running mate.

 

Well he speaks coherently so that disqualifies him from the current White House.

 

Good things are happening with the basketball program. 3 P5 guys are coming here and a 4th player that chose us over P5s and high mid-majors. Clearly there's, at the very least, some truth to what Wentz is saying. He's also putting his money where his mouth his and heavily financing these endeavors. Why do you feel the need to 💩 all over it? 

[kreed5120]

Certainly he seems connected enough that he has some business connections in the Akron area. I'd imagine the collective is more than just him at the moment, but I'm not sure who else is helping to bankroll it as nobody really advertises it.

Edited April 23 by kreed5120