In 2023, what separates pro football from college football?

Buzzilla

Buzzilla

I'm all out of bubblegum
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In 2023, what are the differences between pro and college football with regard to the players, free agency and getting paid?

At this point, I see very little difference. The potential player can easily move in and out of college programs and contract out his "services" to the highest bidder to any separate entity with no accountability other than that governed by contract law. There are virtually no legitimate academic requirements in many of these programs (UNC).

It would seem that if you have deep enough pockets, you can go out and bid up any player you want across the country and become a de-facto owner of that college program.

What am I missing?
 
In the NFL, some teams actually have a chance to compete. Look at the Lions and Jets this year. Browns next year. That's not possible for most college football programs. On a week-to-week basis, games tend to be more competitive. The hard cap and the draft are the great equalizers. Unfortunately, those will never happen in college football. The haves and the never haves.
 
You’ve hit the nail on the head. That’s why I’m hopeful that some new league like the XFL will take off. Another avenue for these elite 5 star players to jump into, get paid and not deal with the “school work”. Maybe bring College ball down to earth a little bit and even out the competition. But only time will tell.
www.americanfootballinternational.com

How Much Do XFL Players Make? Breaking Down XFL Player Salaries

What is the average XFL player salary? The minimum XFL player salary for the 2023 season will be $59,000 plus bonuses. This is around $5,000 higher than the USFL.
www.americanfootballinternational.com www.americanfootballinternational.com
 
NFLPA, league minimum contracts, age requirements, rosters about half the size of college football, more credentialed medical staff, healthcare benefits, 401ks AND pensions, players get a share of revenue, the use of a practice squad to manage costs. Lots of differences in how a professional and what is still called an amateur league function
 
Pro makes a feeble attempt at parity. College is now a wide open "buy a championship" arms race.
 
There is nothing keeping any of these players in college now except money. So the only programs that can keep them in college will be the ones that can pay VERY big bucks to keep them from other college programs, the NFL or other pro leagues that can wave around more money.

Which means, the very wealthy like the Jerry Jones types of the world can essentially step into any college football program (with very lax academic requirements) and, effectively, buy a college football program.

The only ones that could complain would be the school administration and if the donations are big enough, they won't be complaining.
 
Isnt the NFL basically an overblown labor union functioning as a regulated monopoly?

The NFL works because it is regulated from within by the players’ association and from outside by Congress. There is a sense of equilibrium in the NFL where the interests of the players and owners are, for the most part, balanced. It took decades to get to this point.

College football is where the NFL was 50+ years ago but it’s catching up in a hurry (because it has a model to study).

Last summer, I was of the opnion that the college game was going to spawn another division above what we used to call D1 but now call the FBS to create something between the college game and the NFL. Something like the minor leagues in baseball.

I’m no longer convinced that is going to happen. I think the powers that be are going to realize that the best outcome isn’t for five teams to blow away the other 125 but for the other 125 to close the gap somehow.

At this point, I would not be surprised to see Congress give the NCAA a new set of razor sharp teeth so it can reel in the runaway spending that has created this chasm.

There are a lot more shoes to drop and I think a few teams are going to get taken down a notch.

Another few years of the dwag/frog game will put ESPN out of business and we all know that’s not going to happen.
 
00Burdell said:
Another few years of the dwag/frog game will put ESPN out of business and we all know that’s not going to happen.
Click to expand...
Agreed with most everything except that last comment. ESPN going out of business, at least as they have existed up till now, is a very real possibility.
 
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One huge difference… much of the money funneled to players is an after-tax gift to a NIL collective. In my view, this is not a sustainable revenue source. If the money were somehow going thru a foundation or if the players were university employees so that TV revenue could fund them, that could have the merits of a long-term business model, but absent the starvation for winning that can motivate some wealthy donors, giving non-deductible assets is a short-term phenomenon.
 
Tangentially related but a bit of fun history none the less. The college all-stars vs a pro team back in the day. That last game looks like it would have been a good time with the appropriate amount of Beam.
 
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