Adding other layer of chaos to a system that is already discombobulated to a magnitude of the younger generations barraged by confusing thoughts, the alphabet agency administering what were amateur athletics at some point now faces mental and emotional fatigue as the novelty has rusted and the Bhutanese honeymoon is officially over.
In failing to grasp simple human behaviors dictated by finances, the NCAA and implementation of the Names, Image and Likeness (NIL) model of directing financial compensation towards athletes is frenetically morphing into a lifeform that defies reality and puts pressure on young adults to engage in a flawed system. Add to the mix the new five year eligibility rule and college sports has become a series of mousetraps slinging ping pong balls by the thousands Von Neuman style. Within this confusing context promises are marred by cognitive dissonance and the absence of critical thinking skills subconsciously making million dollar decisions for the talented attributes of athletes who possess nearly perfect biomechanics.
As the pageantry of revenue generating sports dissipates into three yards and a cloud of dust on the gridiron and what identifies as field turf headlined by the now minor league system of once formidable football hierarchy, players not receiving lucrative sums of guaranteed cash such as their social media celebrity media colleagues simply don’t care.
A prime example of this disturbing trend of deconstructing the competitive is the situation at the university of Washington, where starting quarterback Demond Williams signed a deal worth millions of dollars, but was requested a release of his commitment and his intent to enter the transfer portal in the wake of signing a deal for the ages. Much to the chagrin of teammates, including his barrier of offensive lineman who were offended by blatant gesture and the greed, the locker room environment was forever tarnished.
After threats of legal action from the athletic department at the university and the Big-10 conference, Williams retracted his plans to seek employment elsewhere and returned to the team. While this sordid narrative is commonplace in the current turbulent era of college sports, everyone wants a piece of the action at a cost. As the dual-threat quarterback shattered the trust of his teammates, quite possibly he is dolling out a fraction of his alleged four million dollar financial agreement with UW to pay for protection during the heated moments within the competition of games. The hefty sums of his compensation allegedly go to his offensive lineman in an age where buying a steak dinner for one’s protectors no longer suffices as a suitable component of a symbiotic relationship. Activate the prison rules of survivability function and subsequent morays.
While William’s scenario is not unique to the future shock ecosystem of college football and commonplace to star athletes, the possible detriment to the game from players yielding to the highest bidder equates to a Darwinistic condition of non-competition. Within this universe, favorability and success among programs surprisingly leans towards the smaller FBS schools and penalizes blue blood academic institutions where standards within the lecture hall still apply to the student-athlete dynamic, and young adult millionaires are created and not destroyed. As television and streaming money from broadcasts cultivate GDP magnitudes of fortunes, the landscape of scholarships and merit have however been transformed and not for the better.
When winning and losing are inconsequential, integrity is officially banished is released from a rusty cage of indifference.
