EA Locker Rumor

[ODogg]

The truth is that most student-athletes are not really serious about school or their degree, they are simply putting in time waiting to get into the NFL. For anyone that doubts you can make much of an athletic scholarship then look at Craig Krenzel, the former OSU QB from the National Championship team, the guy got a degree in molecular biology.

The scholarship is what you make of it. The onus is not on the school to push the kids to make the most of it, when you get to college you're a big boy and it's up to you to take the initiative and do it yourself. This type of mentality, that someone else should be pushing you or handholding you, is what has led this country to so many problems IMO.

[coogrfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by mgovick

smaller sports are not really relevant on this thread beyond the fact that big money sports provide the revenue for them to operate. There shouldnt be an issue with compensation for athletes on teams that dont break even because they dont generate enough revenue to have any sort of return anyway.

I think it's safe to say there is absolutely no possibility that universites would be able to get away with paying only those athletes whose sports generate revenue. Any attempt to do so would result in a firestorm of criticism and Title IX related lawsuits.

[jolson88]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

The truth is that most student-athletes are not really serious about school or their degree, they are simply putting in time waiting to get into the NFL. For anyone that doubts you can make much of an athletic scholarship then look at Craig Krenzel, the former OSU QB from the National Championship team, the guy got a degree in molecular biology. The scholarship is what you make of it. The onus is not on the school to push the kids to make the most of it, when you get to college you're a big boy and it's up to you to take the initiative and do it yourself. This type of mentality, that someone else should be pushing you or handholding you, is what has led this country to so many problems IMO.

This! 100% this. There's too much pointing of the fingers and transferring of blame.

[mgovick]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

I think it's safe to say there is absolutely no possibility that universites would be able to get away with paying only those athletes whose sports generate revenue. Any attempt to do so would result in a firestorm of criticism and Title IX related lawsuits.

You are probably right with this point. Alot of people would be up in arms. However, I disagree on a fundamental level. Whats the threshold for support or is there one. Football and basketball usually support entire athletic departments. In principle its not much different than the problem faced at square one in terms of others benefiting from "my" likeness.

[JohnDoh]

Quote: Originally Posted by mgovick

They should compensate players, plain and simple. Everyone has been doing their best to make as much money off of these guys as possible. While they see none of it. If players were to receive a percentage of sales, then Im sure ea would be allowed to continue using player likeness.

I respectfully disagree. These athletes are receiving a free education that will land them a good paying job one day, free coaching that could land them millions in the NFL, free room & board and all the free grub they can consume for the duration of their college career. Is that not payment enough? If I had to put a rough number on it attending a D1 school I would say that is at least $100K worth of "payments" over a 4 year period.

[mgovick]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

The part in bold could just as easily be applied to English majors. A scholarship is an opportunity, not a guarantee of future success. It is not the responsibility of the university to assure that the recipient takes full advantage of the opportunity being presented to them, any more than it is the universities responsibilty to force "regular students" to show up for class instead of spending their time partying. That's not to say schools shouldn't attempt to influence or guide students into making intelligent decisions regarding their futures. But at the end of the day, it's a question of personal responsibility. Life is about making choices, and living with the consequences of those choices. If an athlete decides to major in basket weaving he/she has no one to blame but themselves.

I agree with you on the point of personal responsibility. My point is that by and large bcs level football players are not afforded the same opportunities as the non athletes. I have pointed out a few times that there are outliers.
Regardless of what the ncaa commercials claim, the fact is that these kids are athletes first. They are brought into these schools to play football. That is their primary concern. (take a look at the lane kiffin debacle when he left tennesee). 9 times out of 10 kids are ultimately selling themselves the opportunity to play college football for a degree and a shot at the nfl.

The athletes arent afforded the same opportunities during and after college as "regular" students. There are a number of factors that play into this. Also, many times kids are misled when they are recruited.

Furthermore, there were a few people who said that the shot at the nfl in addition to a scholarship is fair enough. My response, only 2.4% of college player make it on an nfl roster. Even then the avg career length is 3 yrs (mean)
The only reason why the disparity of education and opportunities afforded by an institution is relevant is because people claim that its adequate compensation when its not. The schools, ncaa, ad guys, and apparel companies benefit exponentially more than the athlete-students.

[mgovick]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnDoh

I respectfully disagree. These athletes are receiving a free education that will land them a good paying job one day, free coaching that could land them millions in the NFL, free room & board and all the free grub they can consume for the duration of their college career. Is that not payment enough? If I had to put a rough number on it attending a D1 school I would say that is at least $100K worth of "payments" over a 4 year period.

Thats not a bad deal when you look at it from at a superficial level. Yeah its a great deal to get a free college education to do what you love on a huge stage.

But the reality is that alot of people are profiting off of these guys without compensating them. Indentured servitude wasnt a bad deal on the surface. You get food and a place to stay and all you have to do is work someone elses land. Not bad. When you actually take a look the problems are apparent.

[berad88]

I didnt read through all 10 pages but getting rid of the EA Locker does not really make sense. People could still import rosters other ways and it would probably make all those jerks that sell rosters on ebay even more money Getting rid of the EA Locker would not keep people from editing the rosters.
As long as people are creating real rosters on their own and distributing them for free I don't think there is anything that can legally be done to stop that.