College football doesn’t need a czar. Or the emperor. Or a great puba or a monarch.
It requires a Nicktator.
Former Michigan State, LSU and Alabama coach Nick Saban said on Pat McAfee’s show this week that Saban knows how to improve college football, but no one will listen to him.
advertise
“I’ve figured it out, no one’s going to listen, so you know, what are you going to do?” Saban said, via Matt Yoder of AwfulAnnouncing.com. “We have to get some kind of antitrust exemption. You have to get the parties together. I think college students have to get over the fact that graduate students can be graduate assistants and get paid and not be employees, so the players don’t have to be employees.”
The truth is, college kids and people like Saban and like-minded politicians need to get over the fact that antitrust immunity is as simple as changing a flat tire. The kind of antitrust immunity the Collegians want would deny players the rights they have fought for in court based on rampant and long-standing antitrust violations throughout the NCAA structure.
They want Congress to wave a magic wand and allow them to return to rules that limit the pay levels and freedom of movement that coaches like Saban have been able to enjoy.
The only antitrust immunity they should get is from national unions. This is how the NFL manages to implement rules like the salary cap, draft and franchise tag.
advertise
But “college students” don’t want to deal with unions. Because the union will zealously advocate for player rights. Practice with minimal contact. Less time spent on grueling offseason conditioning.
Guys like Saban are less capable of keeping a tight grip on a team.
In other words, there are fewer and fewer Nickta players in college football.
But they will continue to feed us the bullshit that college football is in crisis. They will continue to work to tie this situation to success in other college sports. They will continue to pretend the sky is falling.
College football will continue to thrive.
