AllSooner wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 11:26 am
Pokerman wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 10:35 am
RussC wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 10:35 pm
I’m not saying that I’ve described a workable system. Only that there is no way to cap rookie salaries without a union and a CBA.
Based upon historical precedent, I don't think unions are the answer to any problem. They sound good up front but ultimately cause more problems than they solve.
Do you have a system you'd like to propose to put boundaries on this situation?
Not really. I wish I did.
I happen to think that all the problems stem from when many starting saying that the "student-athletes" were being taken advantage of.
I just wish somebody would have taken advantage of me when I was in school by giving me a scholarship. Maybe I would have had to work at some of the crappy, low-paying jobs I did just to get through school. I was a half-way decent athlete but nothing special. I was, however, pretty darned smart but couldn't get a sniff at an academic scholarship. Didn't know the right people, I suppose.
Most of my suggestions would start at a more basic level:
Stop the idol worship for celebrities - TV, movies, athletes (oh, what a heretic I am).
Stop pretending that a college degree is a prerequisite for success in life - it isn't. It's mostly a prerequisite for a job (which is not my definition of success).
Stop making the cost of education prohibitive.
Start requiring a return on investment from those you support.
Start requiring some degree of reciprocation for any loyalty you offer to those you support.
Some combination of these elements need to be included in the working relationship.
You wouldn't enter into a business relationship without them (if you're wise).
Individual contracts might be the answer. Unions are not.