"They're all crooks." It's time to do something about the NCAA

It's been an awfully long time since I wrote anything on here, so I thought I'd rectify that with my latest article.

It felt particularly right to upload it now, after the NFL Draft and after Dabo Swinney signed a 10-year, $93 million contract extension - the largest total contract in college football history.

It is an article I wrote to go with a column page I designed and made myself. It's shown on page in the picture, but here is the text so you can easily read it yourself!

STUDENT athletes in America have an opportunity to play organised sport in an environment better than many professional players do in other leagues and sports worldwide.

College football boasts eight stadiums with capacities over 100,000, and until the Los Angeles Rams relocated from St Louis to LA, college football had 16 stadiums larger than the biggest NFL stadium.

Every year, USA Today release the revenue and expenses for top college football programs. In the 2016-17 financial year, 31 teams had a revenue over $100m. Two schools, Texas and Texas A&M, made $214.8m and $212m respectively.

For context, each NFL team took a $255m share of the NFL’s national revenue. Considering it is a professional league, the fact college football is not so far behind it is incredible.

As a result, many players become bonafide stars, but therein lies the issue. Though they play on primetime television, sell team jerseys for the schools and become idols for countless people, they are amateurs.

They cannot receive any payment for anything relating to their name or image whilst at the school, or from their athletic reputation. Of course, part of the allure of playing college football is the opportunity to make the NFL.

Surely playing football for three or four years, on a full scholarship, whilst not making money is worth it for the chance to sign a multi-million dollar deal at 21- or 22-years-old?

For one NFL executive, it isn’t, and it isn’t surprising to see players leave college early: “The whole thing stinks. The college coaches are always on us about their kids leaving early, and I tell them, ‘Until you start paying them, they’re leaving’.

“The NCAA, they’re all crooks. The players are never more marketable than they are in college. Their stadiums are bigger than ours, everyone paid $100 to get in and $50 to park, the conference has a TV contract and the players don’t get a dime? How in the world is this legal?”

He’s right. It should be illegal. Arguments are made that the scholarship a lot of players receive is payment enough, but that doesn’t cover living costs, that’s just tuition. These players still have to live – they’re in college after all.

I don’t think the players should be paid by the school. What I do think is players should be able to make money themselves. Be that on a monetised YouTube channel like the now ineligible Donald De La Haye, or by signing autographs like Johnny Manziel, or signing sponsorship deals that Duke’s Zion Williamson would surely be able to.

These players are incredibly marketable, and the schools exploit it, why shouldn’t the players?

Something has to change in the NCAA, and the time for that change is now.