When it comes to Nebraska football players and all the players in the Big Ten and beyond, Jim Harbaugh is right that they should get a part of the massive revenue income coming to the conference thanks to its new TV contract. Believe me when I say it gives me no joy to say Jim Harbaugh is right about anything.
But the Michigan Wolverines coach is right about this. He’s right when he said that the players should get a share of the spoils both the playoff money and the conference expansion money. That money, when it comes to the Big Ten expansion and the TV rights that come with it, is totally well into the billions.
"“You know exactly where I stand on that. Well documented that I do believe the players should receive a revenue share from the massive TV deals that have been worked out. Don’t you agree?”"
There’s likely going to be a lot of hand-ringing from the Nebraska football traditionalists about comments like this. “After all,” they’ll say. “College football is supposed to be an amateur sport.”
This argument, of course, ignores the reality of the day. Things are changing when it comes to college football. The train is on the tracks. It’s time to get out of the way.
Nebraska football players are already making money because of who they are and what they’re doing. Decoldest Crawford’s NIL deal with an air conditioning company was celebrated all over social media.
Some fine NIL work here by @Yrncold. #Huskers https://t.co/6yzaXwfeLe
— Sean Callahan (@Sean_Callahan) August 16, 2022
There isn’t a chance that this genie is going to be put back in the bottle. The attempts to compartmentalize how a player can be paid will eventually fail. Those are just facts.
Instead of trying to hold back the tide, the Big Ten and the rest of the NCAA should get in front of this and come up with a way to make sure Nebraska football, Michigan, Purdue and yes, even Iowa Hawkeyes players are getting to share in the spoils of what comes from their efforts.
This doesn’t mean they need to get some sort of salary (though they should) it could even be something like USC is doing with its NIL collective. BLVD LLC. has set up a fund that will be flying players’ families around the country to watch their games. It will also be paying for their lodgings.
There’s nothing to say that the Nebraska football program couldn’t do something similar. There’s also nothing to say the Huskers program couldn’t do more.
In the academic world, grad students are given a “stipend” which is really just money to go to school. That’s the weirdest part about all the people that keep pushing back against the idea of players getting a share of the spoils. It’s not nearly as unheard of as some want to believe.
If billions of dollars are being funneled into the Nebraska football program with the expanded playoffs and these new conference television deals, those dollars should be shared. It might feel gross for some Nebraska fans to admit it for sure, but Jim Harbaugh is correct about this very specific issue.