I've pretty much been rolling my eyes at the NIL thing...especially when they start talking about the HS level...but here is (what I thought was) an interesting point of view; Jake's Take | Why NIL deals are good for high school sports
Not a good thing for college and now you are going to have the 5 stars in high schools making some amount of money just to play football. Not caring about college education is one thing. Not caring about basic education is a recipe for an unsuccessful adult.
This is a continuation of adults corrupting youth in the name of $$$. It is a preposterous notion which I am sure will be implemented.
Time will tell...If you have read the article I think he made some valid points. HS student-athletes aren't gonna be rolling in dough from local endorsements.
Yeah I can't see HS kids making a bunch of money. But it's logical to me that everybody, athletes or non-athletes alike own their NIL rights. Your HS kid who doesn't play any sports if some business wants to use him/her in a commercial has to pay and they aren't prevented from going to school or penalized. So why is it different for a football player. The argument for the Private vs Public is interesting. Again it's hard for me to envision it making any difference. But as Stu says time will tell.
I read the article. I have two thoughts. First of all, I strenuously disagree with his premise that HS sports are dying. His examples have got to be the smallest schools who always have trouble finding enough athletes to fill out certain sports rosters like football. That hasn't changed. It's always been like that everywhere. Also, his example of getting kids away from their video games is faulty IMO. Those kids never were interested in sports in the first place and, while great kids, they likely don't have a sports mindset and never will. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just a fact. Second, I agree with Stu. I don't see it making much difference for reasons I won't elaborate. This post is long enough already.
The only problem I have is will this open the way for colleges to get to the 5*'s early. Is there anything to stop the networks that some colleges have created from offering HS seniors (or juniors) NIL contracts? Even if the high schooler still has a choice on where he signs it would certainly influence some prospects. It's not like high schools are making money off of their athletes like colleges do.
I can see HS children getting a load of cash. I can see HS kids dropping out early with the thought they can get their GED later on if they even need it. I can see the big schools with established NIL alumni networks behind them picking the 5* cabinets clean early on each year. I can see the day when academics are not even mentioned in conjunction with "college" football and sports in general. Ten years ago would you have envisioned what you see now?
All of y'all's complaints are valid...but ya think this isn't happening now? The big schools with established NIL abilities aren't picking the 5* cabinet clean now? Is it easier to get to the 5*'s when so many are gravitating towards all the big name private schools as many are now? I'm not sure I buy his idea...but the guy's point is that maybe some of what is bugging us all will slow down a bit if some of the kids stay down on the farm. I doubt it makes much difference one way or the other...just thought it was a different way of looking at things...of course I live out here in rural rube land.
I think for the most part the 5*s (before this year) are.going where they think they have the best shot at showcasing for the NFL and some are.going to their favorite school. Of course some are being offered financial inducements but I don't think that was.as.bad as.some think. Now it's a bidding war. What makes you say the 5* are gravitating to the big name private schools?
I'm no expert on HS sports to be sure. But here in Ohio it seems like the big name private high schools do a lot of active recruiting of elite athletes. This is from the article I posted. The author makes his living covering HS sports; "If this passes, there is a concern that all the top-tier athletes are going to go to private schools where they can make the most money off their NIL. And I ask, aside from the money aspect, what is different? Athletes are already moving to the private schools that put them in the biggest spotlight. They are already going to private schools to be on the best teams. It has been going on for basically the entire existence of high school sports."
Not all private high schools recruit. Catholic high schools under diocesan control have clearly established feeder schools from which they draw their student athletes. Occasionally, student athletes will transfer voluntarily to such schools because of the higher visibility based on said schools' excellence in athletics, most commonly football, but they are not recruited. The Catholic schools who recruit are independent of diocesan control. An example here in Indiana is Cathedral HS in Indianapolis, whose student athletes come from all over the area and beyond. There are many other schools like Cathedral throughout the country, primarily in and around urban areas. Most folks don't know about or care about this distinction. Hence, all athletically successful Catholic high schools are accused of recruiting. I've seen the signs in the stands and have heard the derisive comments. I'm just saying that it's not what it seems to the world outside of Catholic high school athletics. Of course, the IMG Academy and similar private college prep schools are on a whole other (national) level than what I'm describing.
Stu, I thought you were talking about at the collegiate level. The private high schools in Alabama are like Div. II. The power schools here are almost all public.
We’ll, to be fair I never used the word “recruiting”. I used the term “gravitating” which kinda goes right along with what you’re saying.
Stu, You said private schools. You didn't say Catholic schools. I made the assumption that throughout the country, when talking about high school athletics on the local level, the term "private" is synonymous with "Catholic". Re: recruiting vs. gravitating, just so you don't think I tried to change the meaning of what you said: I was just trying to make the distinction between active recruiting and voluntary gravitating, as I've witnessed firsthand over the years.
Well heck Sid...I was talking about voluntary gravitating, as was the article. I did say "recruit" at one point. Yeah I'm sure a bit of recruiting going on. It's the way of the world. This thread is going places I never intended and don't understand why. I meant nothing pejorative about Catholic schools or private schools in general or even schools that attract kids who "gravitate". As far as "private" being synonymous with Catholic it never crossed my mind. First of all what difference does it make to the point of gravitating athletes whether it's Catholic or not. Secondly we have a successful private HS here in my home town that is not Catholic (and a private Catholic HS as well), and my grand kids attend a large private HS in Nashville that is not Catholic. I'm gonna duck out of here now...this was never meant to be controversial and certainly not anti Catholic...I just thought there were a couple interesting points in the article about NIL that I hadn't thought about...mainly that some kids might stay with their local teams and not do the traveling team thing or "gravitate" elsewhere.
Whoa Stu. I never thought nor intended to imply that you were anti-Catholic, and I certainly didn’t consider this topic to be controversial. I’m sorry if you felt that way. I only intended to clarify what I’ve seen in my personal observations as it relates to private/Catholic HS recruiting vs. passively attracting based on athletic success. If my comments were interpreted in a way other than what I intended, I apologize to Stu and everyone who read them. I agree that this topic should be allowed to die.
I was kind of enjoying y'alls discussion. Like I said above, in Alabama, private schools seldom have very strong athletics so I had never thought of private schools as.being attractive to the best athletes.
Let me throw some gas on the fire. Back in the day in Dayton, Ohio the three Catholic HSs all had dedicated feeder schools and they never fluctuated. Here in New Jersey they never had feeder schools that I could detect; kids went to whatever Catholic schools they wanted to. But now the Catholic schools actively recruit. In 1999 my son played football for Donovan Catholic in Toms River and they were dreadful. They were always dreadful. About five years ago they suddenly became good. Now they are arguably a Top 5 programs in the state. They are also now about 80% black in a town that is about 3% black. In contrast, our local Howell HS, a public HS has always had a great wrestling program; now it is several notches better than that because they a re pulling a in a couple of kids every years from other states, mainly Pa. The local parents are starting to rebel arguing that the local kids who have been wrestling since they were 3 years old are now being shut out by the hired guns. NJ has its expensive private schools like Blair Academy that have nationally renown programs. The Catholic schools in the state who have achieved prominence nationally are Don Bosco, Paramus Catholic, Bergen Catholic, St. Peter's Prep. These schools all recruit. And they are all under Diocesan control.
This topic started based on a writer's opinion that NIL may be good for high schools. It's led to an interesting take by a few of us based on our personal experiences and observations. I, Stu, Kyle, and George all have offered observations of what it's like in Ohio, Nashville, Indiana, Alabama, and New Jersey. Based on this unscientific sampling, the upshot seems to be that when it comes to HS athletics, there's no uniformity, that it's a state-to-state, possibly region-to-region, thing. It's been an eye opener for me.