What to do about opt-outs?

The NCAA should make some sort of move about players opting out. Not only is it bad for them as a business, but it’s also annoying to us as fans. I get it, players don’t want to get hurt, but that’s every game. If your team already has two losses, why not just check out of the season in week 10 or 11. One way they COULD fix it is do it like basketball. You have a 66 team bracket that leads to the natty. Players don’t opt out of march madness, they won’t opt out of the football playoffs.
 
gtchief said:
Can't have opt outs if you don't go to bowls
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Problem is that even if NCAA tried to make some opt-out rule to reduce them, the players can either fake injury or just not try in the game situation, playing it safe not to get injured. I don’t think there is way out of this.
 
It's hilarious to me that we're having a discussion about what punitive measures can be taken to prevent players from opting out of a bowl game, when the entire bowl system is just a huge money grab. Almost every bowl features one team that's disappointed that their season culminated in a trip to Boise or El Paso or wherever, or their coach has already been fired or moved on to greener pastures. You get an entertaining game here or there, but most have been pretty bad since long before opt-outs became more common.

You're asking players to treat a system seriously that even their coaches don't.
 
AlabamaBuzz said:
Problem is that even if NCAA tried to make some opt-out rule to reduce them, the players can either fake injury or just not try in the game situation, playing it safe not to get injured. I don’t think there is way out of this.
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The vast majority of the players opting out will never play another collegiate snap. The NCAA trying to stick their greedy little fingers into things has no impact on them.
 
The chaos in college football can only be curbed by contractual work. Players and schools will need to enter into a contract with one another spelling out the obligations of both parties. Playing the entire season should become a contractural obligation, with financial repercussions for opting out.

Bowls and schools are going to need more specific contractural obligations between them as well.
 
77GTFan said:
The chaos in college football can only be curbed by contractual work. Players and schools will need to enter into a contract with one another spelling out the obligations of both parties. Playing the entire season should become a contractural obligation, with financial repercussions for opting out.

Bowls and schools are going to need more specific contractural obligations between them as well.
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Or they could try to devise a system that's more appealing and keeps players and coaches buying in. You don't have this problem of coaches and players bolting before the NCAA Tournament.
 
I think we’re looking at this the wrong way. Players aren’t opting out of regular season or playoffs games (with rare exceptions) because those games matter. They’re opting out of bowl games because they’re meaningless. Maybe we just shouldn’t be playing these games.

And if the money continues to dictate that we do play them, it’ll be with the understanding that they’re even more meaningless because the best players likely won’t be there. Hopefully that’ll drive down viewership enough that it won’t be worth it to the sponsors anymore.
 
There's no point to any of this. If there becomes a rule about opt-outs, you'll just have highly rated players practice and dress out then just never go into a game, or they could mysteriosly get hurt in practice leading up to the game, etc. Many ways around it and coaches generally protect their players so if a guy that's looking to get drafted decides he doesn't want to play in the Northeast Louisiana K-Mart Bowl, coaches will not make him.
 
77GTFan said:
The chaos in college football can only be curbed by contractual work. Players and schools will need to enter into a contract with one another spelling out the obligations of both parties. Playing the entire season should become a contractural obligation, with financial repercussions for opting out.

Bowls and schools are going to need more specific contractural obligations between them as well.
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Isn't that what the scholarship is, or what it should be?
 
gtchief said:
Can't have opt outs if you don't go to bowls
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Wrong. It is just a matter of time before players start opting out of the last few games of the season when they see nothing is at stake. Why risk injury playing UGA when you know you have a good shot at using the portal to Bama if you stay healthy?
 
goldeagle said:
Isn't that what the scholarship is, or what it should be?
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In theory, but the NCAA/schools have to be very careful about that because they are still fighting legal battles about whether it is an antitrust violation for them to agree among themselves to cap compensation at the cost of education.

That argument gets a lot harder if they treat the scholarship as an employment contract and make players who opt-out or transfer pay back the value of the scholarship. Even if technically they could do that.
 
I am all for the team element and anyone who sits out a game for personal gain is an asshole to that element. However, I am personally against it, but that is an issue that should be able to be fixed within the walls of the locker room.

The NCAA screwed the pooch on taking the high road with anything as long as they overlook semi literate players that spend their whole lives as a sacrifice to the football Gods because of their ability to play sports. I mean, it's not just at the collegiate level and I can't lay it all at the NCAA's feet, but these kids are getting left behind and if football doesn't work out, they're ööööed in general. Does the NCAA give a öööö about them? Nope.

So this is my daily diatribe about the NCAA. öööö them.
 
GT98 said:
Question is whether this accelerates a break away super conference of the roughly 25-30 teams that can or want to compete in the next several years.
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I think that is inevitably where we are headed. With NIL money going directly to the players the bagmen will become redundant to the players NIL agents. With most advertising money going online, TV will soon realize they can not justify the lavish contracts paid to conferences and new versions will shrink. Schools will recognize this and care much less about having a semi-pro "college" team except for the 2 dozen pseudo universities. The NFL will have to step in and provide a development league for paid players. I give it 10 years.
 
I for one am not cheering the demise of the bowl system. I think it's unique in sports and I like it. Not interested in expanding the playoffs beyond 8 at most.
 
aeromech said:
Wrong. It is just a matter of time before players start opting out of the last few games of the season when they see nothing is at stake. Why risk injury playing UGA when you know you have a good shot at using the portal to Bama if you stay healthy?
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You read Jamyhr's mind.
 
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