153 replies to this topic

[SportsGuy]

Does this become a "steroid issue"?

 

IE, everyone is doing it, so you chalk it up to a tainted period but just move on and pretend it didn't happen?

[BSLMikeLowe]

CFB has to be involved in this right?  Shoe deals in the NFL aren't big deals but you can certainly push guys to agents, etc...

 

And btw, if CFB isn't involved, I think that tells you that REAL targets are the shoe companies since the shoe deals just don't happen for football players.

 

I think part of what needs to be considered here is what I mentioned above. Even for agents and financial advisors, and the apparel companies, you have to wait longer before you get a return on a college football player vs a basketball player (3 years vs 1, respectively). Also, because of that longer period it is easier to project where the top HS basketball players will be drafted vs football. (hence, how much money they could be worth to you)

[SportsGuy]

I think part of what needs to be considered here is what I mentioned above. Even for agents and financial advisors, and the apparel companies, you have to wait longer before you get a return on a college football player vs a basketball player (3 years vs 1, respectively). Also, because of that longer period it is easier to project where the top HS basketball players will be drafted vs football. (hence, how much money they could be worth to you)

That's very true.  Still, if you can "gamble" with 10-20K fairly easily, you eventually hit on some guys and make bank.

[BSLMikeLowe]

That's very true.  Still, if you can "gamble" with 10-20K fairly easily, you eventually hit on some guys and make bank.

 

True, if you're willing to take the chances (both in losing more money and increase the chances of getting caught) it is a relatively low loss to take.

[SportsGuy]

True, if you're willing to take the chances (both in losing more money and increase the chances of getting caught) it is a relatively low loss to take.

And then what if coaches were getting kickbacks from agents even after the players got into school?

 

For example...Barkley (who is going to be a top 10 pick) is essentially pushed towards Agent X by Franklin...Agent X pays Franklin 100K.  That could be the way around it in CFB..wait until they have established themselves and then go after them.

[BSLMikeLowe]

And then what if coaches were getting kickbacks from agents even after the players got into school?

 

For example...Barkley (who is going to be a top 10 pick) is essentially pushed towards Agent X by Franklin...Agent X pays Franklin 100K.  That could be the way around it in CFB..wait until they have established themselves and then go after them.

 

It would make more sense that way with football, getting the players via the coaches after a couple seasons and you are more certain of their likelihood of making big money. But you'd still need the connections with the right coaches, since you aren't steering them as recruits to the programs with coaches you already have in your pocket. I'd think to be successful with football you'd need more people in on the scheme, which is problematic. The risks here aren't just the money you are paying out, but also in getting caught, and the more people in on it the more likely you'll get nabbed (I would think).

 

The ESPN story has a quote from the suit guy to the guy from Pittsburgh at the center of the whole thing about it.

 

"The [expletive] basketball guys [get] way more money than these [expletive] football guys," Michel told Blazer. "We can get us [expletive] 10 basketball players in the next five years and we gonna ... have to sit back and do absolutely nothing."

 

Not implying that people in college FB aren't involved, after all the suit guy had to make all those connections with players to custom make their Draft suits somehow. It just seems a lot riskier for a scam like this.

[bnickle]

CFB kids get paid but I can believe its not as much. A top basketball recruit is so much more valuable than a single football recruit. I guess you could argue top QBs but still there is so much unknown in football. Injuries happen a lot easier. TOp Qbs go to schools and flame out. The 3 yrs vs 1 is also a valid point. I mean these coaches, shoe agents, and handlers know the one and dones that'll be top NBA picks a year after they are out of HS.

 

 

Ive also heard people speculate that the infrastructure of paying football recruits is much different. The actually football coaches dont have to get their hands as dirty. I dont know how accurate that is but I can see how it makes sense. You have the boosters and friends of the program who are handing out the money and they arent necessarily expecting anything in return other than a good performance at the school. With basketball these shoe companies expect the kids to eventually sign with them.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Let's be real here... the jump from HS to DI Basketball isn't nearly as intense as that of HS to DI Football. So yeah, I agree that College Football players are far less marketable.

[Pedro Cerrano]

CBB is more reliant on 1-2 talented players. I think this sort of corruption is much more rampant in CBB than CFB.

[The Epic]

CBB is more reliant on 1-2 talented players. I think this sort of corruption is much more rampant in CBB than CFB.

 

Right. An OJ Mayo can make you NCAA Tournament money, unless the rest of the talent around him is inconceivably poor (like, say, Fultz). A Mitch Trubisky might not even get you to a bowl game. 

[SportsGuy]

Right. An OJ Mayo can make you NCAA Tournament money, unless the rest of the talent around him is inconceivably poor (like, say, Fultz). A Mitch Trubisky might not even get you to a bowl game. 

Especially in UNC. 

[The Epic]

Especially in UNC. 

 

You joke, but friggin' Marquise Williams (now in the CFL) made UNC almost sneak into the CFB, while Mitch, with almost the same team a year older, looked incredibly ordinary. 

 

Football is weird.

[DJ MC]

Auburn's firing their AD.

[RaphielleJohnson]

BSL: What Will The FBI Investigation Mean For College Basketball?
http://baltimorespor...ege-basketball/

[Mackus]

Good read.

 

I think the people explicitly named and charged in the case get fired and a permanent show-cause label, effectively lifetime bans from college basketball.  I think the schools caught up in this get stiff penalties, but well short of the death sentence.

 

I don't think there will be any larger impact to the NCAA.  In three years, it'll be like this never happened.

[RaphielleJohnson]

Thanks for the kind words, Mackus. 

 

And I tend to agree with you regarding possible punishment. Thinking the powers that be try to paint this as a few "bad apples" engaging in this activity, and more than a few people will fall for that approach, sadly. Because major changes would likely take money out of the schools' pockets, and I'm not holding my breath on the presidents signing up for that. 

[BSLMikeLowe]

I've heard the "tip of the iceberg" cliché several times with regard to this, as if we should expect many more arrests/indictments. I guess we'll see about that. For now, considering what we currently know, I agree that with the number of people involved it's pretty easy for the NCAA to say it was a "few bad apples," punish the programs, and move on business-as-usual.

[DJ MC]

It all depends on who flips, and how many do.

[SportsGuy]

http://www.espn.com/...ent-adidas-deal

[Chris B]

I really have no idea how that's even possible. Crazy.