June 27, 2023 • 42 mins
The NCAA has introduced name, image, and likeness deals that allow college athletes to accept payment from sponsors and brands -- including anything from endorsement deals to TikTok sponsorships. In this episode, WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu sits down with Roy Wood Jr. to discuss what this means for college athletes, the future of player compensation, and how she is involved with navigating deals for students at her alma mater, the University of Oregon. Roy also sits with Daily Show correspondent, Michael Kosta, to discuss the potential drawbacks that may come with paying college athletes.
Originally aired: March 15, 2022
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey, welcome to Beyond the Scenes. This is the Daily
Show podcast that goes a little deeper into segments and
topics that originally aired on the show. This is what
this podcast is like, all right, Like you ever lose
your remote control in the house, and then you go
like looking at your couch cushion for the remote control,
and then you find a twenty dollar bill and you're like, yah, I.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Got twenty dollars.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Now I only owe eighteen, nine hundred and eighty dollars
and student loaned it. That's what this podcast is like. Today,
we've got a topic that's come up on the show
a few times, and it's about college athletes getting paid.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Please welcome Governor Gavin Newsom.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
The coaches make millions and millions of dollars, advertisers make
millions and millions of dollars in the likeness of these
athletes that give up, in some cases, their bodies and
their health for the sports. I guess that's one version
of a romanticized system. That's the current system. And you
know what, respect there's a racial component. Close to ninety
percent of these coaches are white, and the majority of
(01:06):
Division one basketball players are black. The plurality of Division
one football players are black, and with all due respect
this notion of student athlete. Give me a break. These
guys are full time, expected, full time to sacrifice themselves
for athletics. But when they're done, the next crew comes
in and it's just this cycle, and at the end
of the day, it perpetuates a cycle of inequality.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
This is the right call, Costa, because now student athletes
and rich kids pretending to be student athletes can get paid.
It helps the families, it helps the players. It even
helps the nerd to do their homework because you know
they weren't getting a fair rate before.
Speaker 5 (01:43):
I gotta disagree with Roy, this is a bad move.
Now I admit it's wrong not to pay the athletes.
That's why I think they should expand it and pay
no one, not the students, not the athletic director, not
even the coaches. Just give them all basic scholarships. Then
you'd have an angry sixty eight year old man with
a headset and you're Jane Austen Seminar.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
There's a lot he could learn from Elizabeth Bennett.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And her sisters.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Roy, we already know the NCAA does not pay their
student athletes. But over the summer they announced temporary rules
that let their athletes cash in on their name, image,
and likeness, which means endorsement deals, ad campaigns, being able
to create personalized merch cryptocurrency, TikTok deals, making copywriter stupid dance,
(02:26):
being able to build out your personal brand. This is
going to be all sorts of new opportunities for student athletes.
So helping me talk about this a little bit today.
I gotta get ready for this. I gotta sit up
for this because we got somebody very honorable in the
build it today. She is the first basketball player in
NCAA history with two thousand points, a thousand rebounds, and
(02:47):
a thousand assists, the WNBA's number one draft pick in
twenty twenty, and the youngest WNBA player in history to
score a triple double. Formerly of the University of Oregon
and now of the New York Liberty Sabrina your netschul,
How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
That was a great introduction. I'm doing great?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
That I miss anything? Was there? Also? Forty eight blocks
in two possessions? What else have you not done?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I don't know? That was amazing grand intro.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
So these athletes, you know they can have these name
and likeness deals. Just as you left perfect time in
Mom and Dad are not having Saprina. A little later,
talk to me a little bit about the corporate sponsors
and the endorsement deals that are going on. Does this
mean the NC DOUBLEA is paying their players now?
Speaker 7 (03:39):
You know, indirectly, I would say, I don't think the
NC Double A is a or the universities are. But
you know, these brands now have an opportunity to invest
in these student athletes, and these student athletes are able
to build a brand for themselves at a really younger
age than you know, wherever used to.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
You know, I had to wait my four.
Speaker 7 (03:57):
Years through college, and now they're able to, you know,
coming in from high school, they're able to start navigating
through agents, figuring out where they want to go, what
schools are going to provide the best opportunity for them
to be able to showcase that. So it's an exciting
time in college sports, and I am truly happy for
a lot of these student athletes who are able to,
(04:17):
you know, build their brands and get paid for doing so.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
So when you all were playing, did y'all ever just
sit and think, Man, I need some money. Somebody need
to be paying me for this shit.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
I wouldn't you know if looking back now, I would
have never signed any big deal, no matter how much
money I needed. I would have done like a little
one off thing, like oh, I'll post this for a
couple of thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And in college that last few.
Speaker 7 (04:47):
You know, all I needed in college was flights to
get back home, flights to get my family to games,
and some extra food if I wanted to eat out.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
That was it.
Speaker 7 (04:55):
I didn't need a car, I didn't need to buy
an expensive car, jewelry. I really just needed the bare minimum.
And so I think that's what I would have done.
And so sometimes I was like, dang, you know, my
jerseys are selling and the school is profiting a lot,
and I'm over here and I can't even afford to
go to Chipoloy myself a burrito. So there are certain
times that I was like, yeah, I could use a
(05:15):
couple extra bucks in my pocket, but it was never
to the point where I would sacrifice basketball or school
to do.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
So you're playing for the New York Liberty, but you're
also the chief athlete officer for a company called Division Street.
Now break that down for me, what what is what
is Division Street and what exactly are you working on
over there.
Speaker 7 (05:35):
Yeah, so I am a Chief Athlete Officer, and that's
really just being the voice of the athlete for all
five hundred plus twent athletes at the University of Worgan.
So this company was you know, founded by Phil Knight,
founder of Nike, and there's a lot of you know,
ex Nike employees and people that worked in the business
of branding and you know, figuring out how to best
(05:57):
you know, put athletes and help them use their brand
and you know, monetize that. And so in my position,
you know, at this company, being so newly removed from
being a student athlete at the University of Oregon, it's
really just using my voice and listening to the athletes
and what they want and trying to be able to
help you know, them get that through this company.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And so Division Street is really just.
Speaker 7 (06:20):
Us listening to them, putting them, you know, as athletes first,
and really helping them kind of understand their brand and
figuring that out and aligning the right partnerships with them.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Okay, so then you all kind of brainschild some of
the partnerships. So like, let's just say I'm an athlete.
Let's just say, hey, Sabraina, how you doing. I'm Roywood junior,
stellar baseball player, fourteen home runs in one game. Listen.
I think it's time that I start monetizing myself with
the Pack ten. I want to come up with my
well partner, the well it's about to be the PAC twenty,
(06:53):
the way they emerging all these conferences, Sabrina, I want
to I think the pack towy should I have. I
want to create my own cryptocurrency coin. Is that something
you all could help me with or is it just
you go, you shouldn't do that, or that's a good idea,
go figure it out.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
No.
Speaker 7 (07:11):
I mean the thing is a lot of these athletes
still have agents, and so if you're in the top
you know, division of in your sport on you know
a lot of the high name, high profile athletes, you're
still having your regular marketing agents that they're hiring now
in college to help with that. But on a bigger
you know, on a kind of a bigger level. This
(07:33):
is also like team base so it's like division street
helps you know, if there's a donor that wants to
help with investments and not just donate money to the university,
but actually see their money work in these athletes. It's like, Okay,
let's partner with an investment company that will help teams
at hole figure out how to invest the donor can
you know, pay money towards all of these athletes being
(07:54):
able to use their brand and investing. So it is
also on an individual level, like athlete wanted to get
involved in coinbase and they can.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Always reach out and we can see what we could do.
Speaker 7 (08:04):
But it's also on a team base with a lot
of these athletes that might not have the brand and
the relationships as the one or two percent of the
student athletes do. But it's also giving them an opportunity
to make money while they're in college as well.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
So what about fan interaction? Is there a way to
I'm going to tell you a brief story and one
that made me really sad, but it also kind of
made me a little gratifying. So years ago, I did
David Letterman. I did comedy on David Letterman. The couch
guest that night was Pete Rose. Pete Rose was rude
(08:37):
as shit, and I'll say that on the record. It
is what it is great baseball player rude as shit
to young comedians and like a couple of years later,
I saw him in Vegas in front of a sports
store at an autograph table and there was no one
in line, and it just I don't know why that
(08:57):
warmed my soul the way it did, but it did, Sabrina. So,
how do you all build a bridge between the players
and the fans, because I think now you know, when
you look at social media, it's about accessibility. It's not
just enough to root for your favorite guy, but you
want to be able to touch them or interact with
them some way. But that's also something that could lead
(09:19):
to infraction. So how do y'all help the players navigate
the relationships in terms of marketing themselves and the Oregon
brand with the fans.
Speaker 7 (09:28):
You know, well, a lot of that is team based,
Like we were doing things with fans. Obviously this was
pre COVID when I was there, but we signed autographs
once a week and we're able to really engage with
our fan base.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
But I think there's also.
Speaker 7 (09:40):
Being able to incorporate fan interaction into deals, like, for example,
we just did this airbnb deal at the University of
Oregon for particular athletes, and it's basically this airbnb that
is all decorated with this particular player. This player right
now is no school who plays on the football team
and all inside division. Street has decorated it with his jersey,
(10:03):
things that he likes, food, whatever, you know, whatever it is,
it is all ducked out with cool things that you know,
make Noah and Noah you get that fan interaction. And
they're able to rent it out for the football games
for the weekends for fans to come in and be
able to stay in kind of Noah's house and kind
of have that interaction with this is what he likes.
(10:24):
He might stop buy and say hi. And I think
these are all super important and they mean a lot
to fans.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
You know.
Speaker 7 (10:30):
It's like we we signed autographs all the time. Little
kids were crying so happy to meet us, and you
really are an inspiration and their mentor, and so it
really means a lot to give back to the community
that they come watch you, support you at your highs
and lows. So we're trying to do everything we can
and keep integrating, you know, fans and the fan experience,
(10:50):
keeping that as a priority.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
This concept of paying college athletes is starting to bleed
into paying high school athletes. And so you know, and
I know you know about what over Time Elite is.
But if it's incorrect me if I'm giving this summation wrong.
But they're basically a paid amateur league for children that
are not yet in college. And so there are a
few high schoolers now that are quitting their high school
(11:13):
team to go make money now playing travel ball. And
they give the kids an education, and they give them tutors,
and they give them everything they need schoolastically to get
them through high school. But it's this paid pipeline into
the NBA that seems like an express lane to get
you around the rigamarole of college athletics. But there's part
(11:34):
of me that I'm still trying to find where the
downside is to it. And I wonder if this concept
of money and trying to get money as soon as
possible could be a bad thing for some athletes. What's
your opinions on that.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
Yeah, you know, I think money is the root of
all evils, So I do think that, you know, if
I have to look in the future, I do think
that's where it's trending for younger amateurs. To start getting
paid at a younger age because they want the money,
they want the cars, they want the nice things. And
that's kind of where social media has taken a lot
(12:10):
of things too, with posting about it and comparing yourself
to others.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
And so I do think it's going to get to
that level.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
But you know, I do think it could do a
lot of these athletes at disservice as well, because there
is a lot to learn from high school basketball, there
is a lot to learn from college basketball, and there's
very you know, a very small select group of these
athletes that are going to make it to the NBA.
It's a statistic that you know, we're all told in
college it's about one or two percent of us that
(12:37):
end up going to play pro. And so I think
having a degree and being able to be a part
of a team and you're not really just doing it
for the individual accolades and you know, the individual money,
but being able to do it, you know, to learn
and to grow as a person and player is really important.
So it is going to be interesting to see, you know,
where this goes and how it's going to affect a
lot of development of a younger age.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Now to be the other thing that will A lot
of these teams need, they need honest coaches. So I
played high school baseball right and we had a coach
shout out to Coach Loban. Coach Loban told us one
day we wasn't even senior yet he looked at the
whole team. He said, I'm looking at all of y'all
and I see maybe two scholarships and maybe only one
(13:18):
of you is going to get an invite to try
out for minor league balling. You're gonna get cut. Nobody's
specially on this team. Get to running.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Well. That's rare, especially in this day and age. Coaches
want to keep.
Speaker 7 (13:34):
Their jobs and everything's on social media. I feel like
having conversations the other day, it's like everything's kind of
gone a little soft, you know. It's like everything's about
not offending, not being too hard, not being too strict,
you know, not really you know, a coach. That's what
a coach is supposed to do. Motivate you, challenge you
(13:54):
to want to be better. And I think a lot
of the times, and especially with the coaches that are
new in coaching, it's like they don't really have identity,
so they don't know what to say, and they want
to please the players, so they stay and they don't transfer.
They don't leave, and transferring and you know, leaving colleges
and high schools is you know, seeing every single day now,
so it's not really look down upon or frowned upon.
So I think that's really what they're nervous about, and
(14:17):
so they might not hold someone accountable because they want
them to stay and not transfer.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Now you just opened up a whole nother can So
you know, the NCAA already gives the players the option
now of entering the transfer window, which I just like
to call college free agency. I don't like my coach,
so I'm transferring to another team and I won't have
to sit out a year because I trans I'm going
into the transfer window. All right, If we're giving players
(14:43):
endorsement deals, do we eventually find ourselves in a world
and just following this is all pie in the sky,
But do we eventually find ourselves in a world where
college teams get into bidding wars over players based on
the types of endor horsements that they can offer the players.
You know, of course, above the board per NCAA rules,
(15:07):
But do you think that this concept of paying players
could eventually lead to, you know, the types of deals
that make players choose where they want to go to
school based on how much money they're getting and not
the type of education or not even the type of
offense or where their style of play may best be suited.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
I feel like I see it already in recruiting with
kids not knowing what college to go to, and it's like, well,
I can go to Kentucky and they've promised me this
amount of dollars in endorsements, or I can go to
Oregon and I always promised this amount. So I definitely
think it's going to change the landscape of recruiting as well,
because at the end of the day, that's what these
student athletes are really enticed about. If they know that
(15:44):
they're not going to go play pro and they know
that that's not where they want to go, it's really
about how they're going to be able to build their
brand in college. And if they're able to partner with
brands at a certain university and they're not at others,
they're probably more enticed to go to that university to
start building their brands and building a business for them.
Elves in college instead of waiting until they're out of college.
So it's really going to be interesting to see. But
(16:06):
I definitely think, you know, with the transferring, and it's
going to be interesting to see a lot of you know,
what chances brands take as well in businesses, because it
can be really good at one college and you're not
happy and you want to transfer to different college, and
what if you don't don't perform the same at that
at that other college and you're tied to this long
term deal. So it's going to be interesting to see
(16:26):
what approach a lot of these businesses and brands take
as well on.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Do they give these players long term deals?
Speaker 7 (16:32):
Do they give them deals only at that College's interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
There's so many layers to this ship because now it's
like you through eight interceptions, would you mind deleting those
posts about how much you love driving our truck? Kind
of want to get your back up who's now playing
better than you and started.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I'm happy.
Speaker 7 (16:58):
I'm happy for that student, but I am happy I
didn't have to deal with a lot of these things
while I was playing, because it's just a lot, Like
you said, there's a lot of layers to it. There's
a lot of added pressure to perform alongside the pressure
that you have on yourself.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So it'll be interesting.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Do you think this will like breed jealousy in the
locker room, like because it feels like I might not
I might want to punt you in the face. You
got the Gatorade deal and I didn't, but I got
more points than you.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Yes. Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (17:30):
I mean if it brings jealousy in the locker rooms
at a professional level, it's going to bring it.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
At a collegiate level.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
So yeah, I mean it's gonna be pointing fingers comparing.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Why do you have this deal and I don't.
Speaker 7 (17:42):
I want the ball war, And it's sometimes I think,
you know it's not gonna be you want the ball
war to be a better basketball player. It's like, well,
I have to meet these requirements to get this deal.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I got to score this many points.
Speaker 7 (17:53):
So it's going to be interesting to see if people
can keep the main goal, the main goal, which is
be the best in your be the best athlete, and
not get carried away with the nuances of these deals.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
We have to take a quick break, but I want
to talk about the future of nil deals. On the
other side of the break, because where are we going
with this? Maybe I need to like endorse a college athlete.
I got five hundred bucks. I could try to a
kid make sure if you score a touchdown, make sure
you say visit Roywood Junior dot com or something stupid.
(18:27):
What does the future look like for student athletes when
it comes to these name and likeness deals like you know,
being paid and you know equity as a whold Like,
do you think this is a net positive across the board?
Speaker 7 (18:38):
I think it will be, But I think it's going
to be telling on who the elite in their sports
are and who are doing it for the wrong reasons.
And I think that's going to come to like a
little bit sooner than it normally does.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And I think it's going to be.
Speaker 7 (18:51):
Really telling whether a lot of these kids in high
school or college are you know, willing to sacrifice making
a lot of money for posting things or for going
to shoots and really focus on putting an extra work,
going to the gym, having the right group of people
around them too. That the agent business and all that stuff,
can you know, can be really tricky and a lot
(19:12):
of these times these agents want to get paid and
they don't really care what's in the best in just
of you as an athlete and seeing you succeed as
a person. So it's going to be interesting to see
who these athletes really trust. How the age of business
is going to change as well. And you know, you
are who your friends are, you are who's in your circles,
So you know, maybe it'll make these you know, college
kids and high school kids have to mature a lot
(19:34):
faster because they're going to have to really trust those
people that are making decisions around them.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
For a lot of young athletes, right and we know
money could be a deciding fact on whether or not
they can continue playing, but you know they have the
pay to play leagues, the travel leagues. Do you think
that model would help kids keep playing sports? And if not,
with that model be helpful.
Speaker 7 (19:54):
Yeah, I mean my parents had to bend over backwards
to you know, keep me in my a team. You know,
it's like you play all summer long, and you travel
across the country, games every tournaments, every single weekend. I
had siblings as well, and so it gets really expensive.
So it's definitely not easy to do. And there's only
(20:15):
kind of a certain percentage of people that are able
to do so. But I definitely think it's up to me,
and it's up to a lot of you know, the
other athletes and people of influence that have kind of
walked that path to be able to do what we
can to give back, whether that's sponsored teams, help with
uniforms and gear bawls, you know, everything adds up. And
I just remember every year it's like uniforms, three hundred
(20:35):
dollars for a uniform. It's like that's expensive for some families.
And so just trying to use my platform and the
resources that I have, you know, with my brands at
nikear or wherever it is, to be like this will
help families a lot. Let's donate uniforms, Let's fund this tournament,
whatever it is to just you know, keep having kids
play but not have to have their parents sacrifice as
(20:58):
much as they do.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
We talk about gender pay inequity. How has the name
and likeness deals, like, how does that affected student athletes?
More specifically, has it affected the earning potential for female athletes?
Because I really think, you know what preaching to the
choir here, but like, how do we make sure that
in this space of money already being allocated unevenly. How
(21:22):
do we make sure that these names and likeness deals,
can you know, kind of stay above the board, you know,
for women athletes to see.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah, I think it's more beneficial than harmful.
Speaker 7 (21:30):
And I think so because you're really given an opportunity
to use your platform to the best of your ability,
and sometimes that isn't even tied with performance. So I
know that there's some athletes at the University of Oregon
and other universities.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
They could be D two D three athletes.
Speaker 7 (21:47):
And they're not known for their sport, but they're on
TikTok or they're on Instagram, social media and their influencers
for whatever they're doing, and they're getting paid more than
some of the men and male athletes in sport that
are average or above average, that don't have an image
or don't use their social media platform. So I really
do think that it gives everyone this opportunity to be
(22:11):
uniquely themselves and if that is able to provide a
steady income and to you know, to help you, I
think great. If you're not great at basketball, but you're
great at dancing on TikTok and you can make a
good amount of money, then good for you.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Here's an ignorant question. Here's a question that I'm very
ignorant too. So like when you look at, like, all right,
March Maddness, the twenty twenty one March Madness tournament, which
was during the shutdown, still a lot of COVID happening,
and the way that they handled the women's training area
during March Madness versus what the men had.
Speaker 7 (22:46):
Oregon Sedona Prince gave us a glimpse of the weight
room differences in a social media video last Thursday.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
So, for the NCAA March Madness, the biggest tournament in
college basketball for women, this is our weight room.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Make show you all the men's weight room.
Speaker 7 (23:03):
As you can see, the men were provided with a
lot more equipment than the women.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Damn, that's ice cold, because that's not a weight room.
That's just the wreck of weights that you buy in
the beginning of quarantine and then never use. And honestly,
this is surprising because usually the nc DOUBLEA treats male
and female athletes equally. I mean, they definitely pay them
both the same amounts.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Let's just say I'm an auto manufacturer and I want
to give male athlete a thousand dollars to say drive
this truck. And then I turn around and I give
a woman athlete five hundred dollars to say drive this truck.
Is there any type of regulations on that for where
the NC DOUBLEA or anyone can say, hey, no, you
have to pay them the same amount of money or
is it solely up to the third parties who are hiring.
Speaker 7 (23:48):
The athletes as of now, I think it's solely, you know,
up to whatever they want to decide. But I think
that's a really cool thing that I've been able to
see and anointnance that being a part of Divisions Street is,
especially at Oregon is a lot of these donors love
the teams, regardless if they're women's teams, you know, men's teams,
and I think they're so willing to help us as athletes.
(24:12):
I'm not even an athlete anymore. I forgot them as
athletes at the University of Oregon that you know, they
want equality. They want to pay a men's basketball player
the same as a women's basketball player. So I think
it does really start with who's donating the money and
what they stand for. But hopefully, at you know, one point,
(24:32):
there will be a regulation on even teams right like
acro and tumbling at Oregon doesn't get the notoriety that
women's basketball does. But how can we help them also
be able to make a living and you know, make
more money than just their scholarship checks or even you know,
there's a lot of players that are walk ons on
these teams and they don't get money from the university
(24:53):
at all, and they pay their way and they still
put in the same amount of practice time and you know,
the same amount of work in the classrooms. So it's like,
how are we also able to give money to those
to those people to not have to work second jobs.
And so it's all really new and fresh. But I
think with the right people that are in charge, it
will be good.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Now for everything that you all are doing right now
with your company there for the University of Oregon. Have
other schools reached out at all with regards to how
they could create the same type of relationship with their players,
between players and the schools.
Speaker 7 (25:26):
Yeah, I mean, of course, you always aspire to be
the best, and I mean Phil Knight is the absolute
best and what he you know, has done at Nike
and everything that he's done for us at Oregon and
continues to do at Oregon. And so he's also kind
of evolved with the time of all right, analyze now
a thing, what are we going to do to help
(25:47):
the to the Oregon student athletes, And you know, he
came up with something really fast, got the right people
on board, and so I know that there's a bunch
of other schools that you know, are trying to figure
out what we do and how they can do it
because it is, you know, a competitive advantage and it
is benefiting a lot of the student athletes actually ever
seen one of them, and so it'll be exciting to
see if a lot of the other schools do it.
(26:09):
And I'm excited to see what we're going to continue
to do better than all the other ones.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
So go Ducks. It's interesting because it's like we're Division
Street and we're helping be a bridge and help the
athletes monetize themselves, and we want everyone to do this,
but we also don't want you stealing the way that
we help our athletes because you may recruit the same
athlete as us. But yay, everybody, Sabrina, best of luck
to you in the WNBA season to come. Thank you
(26:36):
so much for taking us Beyond the Scenes, we heard
from w NBA stars Sabrina I and Escu on how
the NCAA's name and image likeness deals are changing college sports.
In this bonus episode of Beyond the Scenes, I wanted
to sit down with my friend, fellow correspondent and co
host of the sports segment we do on the show.
(26:57):
I apologize for talking while you're talking, Michael Costa. Costa,
how you doing, man, Welcome to Beyond the Scenes.
Speaker 8 (27:04):
Thanks Roy, It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Man.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
We wanted you here today, Costa because we want you
to bring a professional tennis plane expertise to this program.
You know you are a professional, former professional ad are
you still professional? I don't know. Bottom line, you got
a check from the World Tennis. Was it Major League Tennis?
Speaker 6 (27:22):
What's it called Major League Tennis Association of Tennis Professionals.
Speaker 8 (27:25):
Yeah. I also got some fines, Roy.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
So one time in Montreal, I threw a ball at
my opponent and hit him in the neck, and then
they wrote up the fine as.
Speaker 8 (27:35):
Mister Costa, which I loved.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
They had to say, like, all fancy deliberately threw a
ball at his opponent and I got fined two hundred
and fifty dollars and my check that week was one
hundred dollars, so I was negative one fifty that week.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Tennis to me is different because it's an individual sport. Also,
I can see your face, so I feel like from
a marketing standpoint, if you're a popular tennis player, or
you're an playing for a school with tennis as popular,
you have an advantage over the backup left offensive lineman,
guard guy who no one knows. Like with these names
(28:10):
and likeness deals, do you think there's going to be
a difference in playing an individual versus the team sport
or is it just all the same pot.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
Well, excellent question, and think about some of the highest
paid professional athletes. Tennis is always in there, especially on
the women's side. You can see the face.
Speaker 8 (28:26):
You see a.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
Lot of the face, and as an affluent sport, the
brands it attracts. It's Lexus, it's Heineken, it's Mercedes. I
mean these are expensive brands.
Speaker 8 (28:37):
So yes. Historically this is also.
Speaker 6 (28:41):
Why tennis was protected from a lot of the cuts
that athletic departments make because their alumni have money. The
wrestling teams would get cut more often because there's not
as many wealthy alumn who used to wrestle. I'm generalizing,
but I do think the sport will matter. I think
(29:02):
basketball players can market themselves better than football players. Most
of the face is covered on football. Some teams don't
even say the last name on the jersey in football, so.
Speaker 8 (29:13):
You got to like, yeah, Google, who is that? Who's
the quarterback? And Notre Dame?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
You know, Yeah, it's like like there on top of that,
like the with football, personality is what you have to
use to transcend having the helmet on. But then the NCAA,
God forbid. You're more than happy that you made a
good catch, it's a fifteen yard penalty. You can't even
it's taunting. They'll bring back a touchdown if you're too
(29:37):
happy on the way to the end zone. Yeah, So
how do you overcome the rules and regulations of the
sport and the masking of your face? That means you
just got to be showboating on the sideline.
Speaker 6 (29:48):
Yeah, you got Johnny Manzela, and you see how well
you know he was flagged every time he showed her personality.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
He was going like this, he was going like this
before there was the money, the cash.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
Yeah, so you know, I don't love name image likeness promotion.
I think it does promote individuality. I think it does
promote focusing on your brand.
Speaker 8 (30:12):
I would just love it. I've said it before.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
If the team the end of you know, they pooled
the money and they split the money up and freshmen
got this and sophomores got this, and it was based
on the TV deal. But again, the NCAA, they fought
name image likeness pretty hard. They are not going to
want to approve any revenue sharing.
Speaker 8 (30:32):
From tickets or TV. But I think that is the
most fair.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Solution because it would be like Roy if we got
rewarded for being more selfish at the Daily Show, if
we were given more money. And now I'm fighting you
and Ronnie and DESI get and it's just that's not
a team environment.
Speaker 8 (30:49):
So it's a good question.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
You ask. You played tennis in University of Illinois, yep,
in your time when you were in college. Just just
talk because you know this is I'm bringing this up
because we love to talk about whatever. Athletes don't need
to get paid. They getting enough money. Don't talk to
me about how much work goes into how much commitment
(31:12):
it takes to be a sement athlete, give me, give
me a schedule, your training schedule.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
Well, you know, I played tennis at University of Illinois
and then I coached two years at University of Michigan.
And I'll start as I'll start with my perspective as
a coach, because as the assistant coach of men's tennis
University of Michigan, half of my job was an Excel
sheet where I kept track of the hours of my
(31:37):
athletes to make sure they weren't spending in the on
season more than twenty hours a week on tennis. In
the offseason it was less, but every single hour is
accounted for when you are, as the NCAA likes to say,
a student athlete.
Speaker 8 (31:53):
But when I played, I.
Speaker 6 (31:55):
Don't even know where I could have found the time
to promote my likeness, my brand. It's been to me
be very interesting to me to see how these athletes
going forward do this, because Broy, you're also trying to
get a degree.
Speaker 8 (32:07):
You're also trying to do what your coaches are asking you.
Speaker 6 (32:10):
If you have aspirations to be a professional, you have
to also do above what your coach is asking you.
You got to continue to improve your actual skills in
the sport.
Speaker 8 (32:22):
So I might be more old school on this, but I.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
Just I don't know how many athletes are really gonna
be able to successfully pull this off.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
When you all were playing, did y'all ever just sit
and think, Man, I need some money. Somebody need to
be paying me for this shit. Dude.
Speaker 6 (32:36):
The Illinois tennis team was popular, We were successful. Our
tickets were free and and yo we had people show up.
Speaker 8 (32:45):
That was amazing.
Speaker 6 (32:46):
But no, there was you know, for me, this isn't
getting my education paid for was what was enough. But
I wasn't walking around campus seeing people wearing Costa jerseys,
even though that would have been awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Do you see any drawbacks to name and likeness deals?
You know, so you know, to to kind of to
dovetail off of what Sabrino is just talking about about
how it could breed some level of jealousy in the
locker room amongst players. Do you agree with that costume?
Speaker 4 (33:15):
I do.
Speaker 6 (33:15):
I mean, especially it's individual name, image, and likeness is
very individual. And on the ultimate team sport football, you
know that guy has to block so three things work
in order so this guy can score a touchdown.
Speaker 8 (33:30):
I mean, it's the ultimate team sport.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
It's you're you're only as strong as your weakest link.
Speaker 8 (33:34):
It's gonna be tough.
Speaker 6 (33:35):
It's gonna be another thing the coaches have to manage too.
I mean I was a coach. These are competitive, somewhat irrational,
extraordinarily hard working.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Young men, spoiled sometimes spoiled.
Speaker 6 (33:49):
In tennis especially, And you're gonna throw in this guy's
making money for a tweet. This guy isn't hey, can
you introduce me to your agent?
Speaker 7 (33:57):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (33:58):
Sorry, you didn't win your match yesterday. It's complicated. It's very,
very complicated.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
So then do you think as buy and large as
a whole? Is this name enlighteness stuff? Is this a
good thing by the NCUBA or is it a smoke screen?
Speaker 6 (34:11):
I think it's a very small step, and I think
they're trying to give a little bit to the athlete
to say, see, we are adapting.
Speaker 8 (34:20):
But I believe.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
It's not something to easily execute because there's no time
for the athlete to really focus on this. I, if
I want to be pessimistic, I think it's a smoke screen.
So they try to avoid sharing TV revenue with these athletes.
I think the NCAA is terrified of splitting TV revenue
(34:43):
with athletes, which is why they almost kind of gave
them this name image likeness thing because Sabrina's just saying
sometimes she wouldn't even eat, she was practicing so hard.
I want to see the athletes get money from the
TV deals, then they don't have to promote or brand
or retweet.
Speaker 8 (35:01):
Just give them some of the money from the money.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
With the putt. Yes, with the pot for a lot
of young athletes, right, and we know money could be
a deciding factor on whether or not they can continue playing,
but you know they have to pay to play leagues,
the travel leagues. Do you think that model would help
kids keep playing sports? And if not, with that model
be helpful.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
I only know from this perspective of tennis and tennis
is primarily an affluent sport, But there are families that
don't have as much money that graduate kids that become
great tennis players.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Great.
Speaker 8 (35:34):
You know the King Richard movies.
Speaker 6 (35:35):
Out now about Richard Williams with what he did to
help Serena and Venus.
Speaker 8 (35:39):
But families, it is expensive raising a kid.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
It's even more expensive preparing a kid to become world
class out of sport. In my opinion, anything you could
do to help the families, whether it be money or
resources to keep these kids on track athletically, would benefit.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Okay, if there were leagues in place, and if the
NBA G League starts paying a little bit more, they
probably won't because the NBA, I think, is in bed
with NC Double A. But if you have these AAU
and these paid travel ball programs that are promising players
one hundred thousand dollars whether they get drafted or not,
to go to college, then if I'm a good athlete
(36:21):
coming out of high school and I'm Duke or I'm
whatever blue U n C or whatever blue blood basketball
program Kentucky, if I'm Kentucky, I'm not only competing against
other colleges. I'm now competing against a league that's gonna
put money in this kid's pocket right now. And he
may not get enough money from his Snapchat deal or
his stupid Hey everybody, like like in Birmingham right now,
(36:44):
a bunch of the Alabama players, they're all on TV
telling you where to go eat barbecue, and shit, It's
like I know where to get barbecue. Do you think
the NC DOUBLEA, because of the pressure is created by
outside paid amateur organizations will have we have to consider
sharing that pot.
Speaker 6 (37:04):
They absolutely will, because you can't tell an eighteen year
old kid whose family doesn't have enough money or has
spent a lot of their money helping this kid become
a great basketball player or whatever, baseball player, whatever the
sport is. You can't keep this narrative of they're getting
paid with the education. I'm not saying education isn't important.
(37:26):
It is, but money pays the rent. It's going to
be a problem, and I think the NCAA knows it.
They're fighting, but I do think, and this might be
pessimistic to say, I do think the players are going
to follow the money, especially if you're talking like it's
like it's big enough money. One hundred thousand dollars is
(37:46):
a lot now. As a tennis player, I just didn't
have that opportunity. I don't think we ever will because
college tennis is not raking in the money. So for me,
it was an added benefit to get the education. But
in Sabrina's case, I mean, people are making real dollars
off of her and she can't get a burrito at Chipotle.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
What here's my doomsday scenario. So you have a league
like overtime elite. Right, Like, if the question is where
are we going? Where's where's all of this going? You know,
where are we going with this issue and name and like,
and I tell you where I think we're going, Costa.
I think we're going to a spot where college athletics,
(38:30):
if they are not careful, becomes the new minor leagues
of athletics. So if you have and I think it
all if we just let me take that back just basketball.
Let's just talk basketball. This all boils down to which
horse the NBA bets on. So if I'm a high
school kid, I just had this high school kid on
(38:50):
my podcast, Roy's Job Fair, part of the iHeartMedia podcast.
At this kid's mom on the podcast, he quit his
high school team to make money for a pro am team.
He plays pro am while still enrolled in high school
with the bet with the guarantee that he gets one
hundred thous for college, whether he goes overseas, whether he
goes to the G League, or whether he gets drafted
(39:13):
hundred thout guarantee. Now, if that kid, if those kids start,
enough of those kids make that leap from pro am
straight to the NBA or into the G League. Why
would the NBA still bother drafting college. You draft a
college kid or too, But if you're a college kid
worth your weight, why would you still go to college?
If this is now the proven route, So if that
starts working out for more and more people, I think
(39:36):
that's the way all of the five star athletes are
gonna go. I'd sound like a crazy sports round, I'm sorry,
but like I think, if the NBA up the pay
in the G League to compete with the pro am leagues,
then the G League becomes the new college. That becomes
a new place to go and try it.
Speaker 6 (39:56):
Look, if they're gonna pay the athlete a per DM
stipend and seventy five hundred a year, then it's not
going to happen. But one hundred thousand dollars is a
lot of money. And yeah, Kentucky has cool shorts, and
yeah the Duke has great student fans, but nobody's gonna
give a shit for one hundred thousand dollars. They're going
(40:17):
to follow the money and we'll see. We are at
a pivotal time in collegiate sport. I think the fans
don't want to admit it. The real diehard fans, But
everybody else is now doing the economics of ticket sales. Dude,
CBS just renewed March Madness for eight years for nine
(40:41):
billion dollars b billion. Anybody who's reluctant to hearing about
revenue sharing, you don't realize how much money is being
made off of these athletes. So they got to adjust
because you're right, if the G League or whomever, the
Pro aram League is offering one hundred grand, two hundred grand,
bye Kentucky by Duke.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Yeah, and so then who are you left with playing
for Kentucky.
Speaker 8 (41:05):
It's gonna be like me. Also, you know what else
is crazy?
Speaker 6 (41:10):
Roy the coach of Duke makes fourteen million, fifteen million,
sixteen million. Yeah, it's like everybody around is making all
this money.
Speaker 1 (41:18):
So I bet you.
Speaker 8 (41:21):
I bet you're a pretty good ball handler.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Though no baseball was my thing. Okay, okay, My issue
with basketball is just I just don't like people in
my face. And that's you get away from me.
Speaker 8 (41:32):
That's my job of the defender.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
I would have loved tennis. That's a nice, spacious sport,
excellent sport, excellent hell away from me.
Speaker 8 (41:39):
Yeah, you're like seventy eight feet from each other. Dude,
it's great.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
Listen to the Daily Show beyond the scenes on Apple Podcasts,
the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, welcome to Beyond the Scenes. This is the Daily
Show podcast that goes a little deeper into segments and
topics that originally aired on the show. This is what
this podcast is like, all right, Like you ever lose
your remote control in the house, and then you go
like looking at your couch cushion for the remote control,
and then you find a twenty dollar bill and you're like, yah, I.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Got twenty dollars.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Now I only owe eighteen, nine hundred and eighty dollars
and student loaned it. That's what this podcast is like. Today,
we've got a topic that's come up on the show
a few times, and it's about college athletes getting paid.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Please welcome Governor Gavin Newsom.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
The coaches make millions and millions of dollars, advertisers make
millions and millions of dollars in the likeness of these
athletes that give up, in some cases, their bodies and
their health for the sports. I guess that's one version
of a romanticized system. That's the current system. And you
know what, respect there's a racial component. Close to ninety
percent of these coaches are white, and the majority of
(01:06):
Division one basketball players are black. The plurality of Division
one football players are black, and with all due respect
this notion of student athlete. Give me a break. These
guys are full time, expected, full time to sacrifice themselves
for athletics. But when they're done, the next crew comes
in and it's just this cycle, and at the end
of the day, it perpetuates a cycle of inequality.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
This is the right call, Costa, because now student athletes
and rich kids pretending to be student athletes can get paid.
It helps the families, it helps the players. It even
helps the nerd to do their homework because you know
they weren't getting a fair rate before.
Speaker 5 (01:43):
I gotta disagree with Roy, this is a bad move.
Now I admit it's wrong not to pay the athletes.
That's why I think they should expand it and pay
no one, not the students, not the athletic director, not
even the coaches. Just give them all basic scholarships. Then
you'd have an angry sixty eight year old man with
a headset and you're Jane Austen Seminar.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
There's a lot he could learn from Elizabeth Bennett.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And her sisters.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Roy, we already know the NCAA does not pay their
student athletes. But over the summer they announced temporary rules
that let their athletes cash in on their name, image,
and likeness, which means endorsement deals, ad campaigns, being able
to create personalized merch cryptocurrency, TikTok deals, making copywriter stupid dance,
(02:26):
being able to build out your personal brand. This is
going to be all sorts of new opportunities for student athletes.
So helping me talk about this a little bit today.
I gotta get ready for this. I gotta sit up
for this because we got somebody very honorable in the
build it today. She is the first basketball player in
NCAA history with two thousand points, a thousand rebounds, and
(02:47):
a thousand assists, the WNBA's number one draft pick in
twenty twenty, and the youngest WNBA player in history to
score a triple double. Formerly of the University of Oregon
and now of the New York Liberty Sabrina your netschul,
How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
That was a great introduction. I'm doing great?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
That I miss anything? Was there? Also? Forty eight blocks
in two possessions? What else have you not done?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I don't know? That was amazing grand intro.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
So these athletes, you know they can have these name
and likeness deals. Just as you left perfect time in
Mom and Dad are not having Saprina. A little later,
talk to me a little bit about the corporate sponsors
and the endorsement deals that are going on. Does this
mean the NC DOUBLEA is paying their players now?
Speaker 7 (03:39):
You know, indirectly, I would say, I don't think the
NC Double A is a or the universities are. But
you know, these brands now have an opportunity to invest
in these student athletes, and these student athletes are able
to build a brand for themselves at a really younger
age than you know, wherever used to.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
You know, I had to wait my four.
Speaker 7 (03:57):
Years through college, and now they're able to, you know,
coming in from high school, they're able to start navigating
through agents, figuring out where they want to go, what
schools are going to provide the best opportunity for them
to be able to showcase that. So it's an exciting
time in college sports, and I am truly happy for
a lot of these student athletes who are able to,
(04:17):
you know, build their brands and get paid for doing so.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
So when you all were playing, did y'all ever just
sit and think, Man, I need some money. Somebody need
to be paying me for this shit.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
I wouldn't you know if looking back now, I would
have never signed any big deal, no matter how much
money I needed. I would have done like a little
one off thing, like oh, I'll post this for a
couple of thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And in college that last few.
Speaker 7 (04:47):
You know, all I needed in college was flights to
get back home, flights to get my family to games,
and some extra food if I wanted to eat out.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
That was it.
Speaker 7 (04:55):
I didn't need a car, I didn't need to buy
an expensive car, jewelry. I really just needed the bare minimum.
And so I think that's what I would have done.
And so sometimes I was like, dang, you know, my
jerseys are selling and the school is profiting a lot,
and I'm over here and I can't even afford to
go to Chipoloy myself a burrito. So there are certain
times that I was like, yeah, I could use a
(05:15):
couple extra bucks in my pocket, but it was never
to the point where I would sacrifice basketball or school
to do.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
So you're playing for the New York Liberty, but you're
also the chief athlete officer for a company called Division Street.
Now break that down for me, what what is what
is Division Street and what exactly are you working on
over there.
Speaker 7 (05:35):
Yeah, so I am a Chief Athlete Officer, and that's
really just being the voice of the athlete for all
five hundred plus twent athletes at the University of Worgan.
So this company was you know, founded by Phil Knight,
founder of Nike, and there's a lot of you know,
ex Nike employees and people that worked in the business
of branding and you know, figuring out how to best
(05:57):
you know, put athletes and help them use their brand
and you know, monetize that. And so in my position,
you know, at this company, being so newly removed from
being a student athlete at the University of Oregon, it's
really just using my voice and listening to the athletes
and what they want and trying to be able to
help you know, them get that through this company.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And so Division Street is really just.
Speaker 7 (06:20):
Us listening to them, putting them, you know, as athletes first,
and really helping them kind of understand their brand and
figuring that out and aligning the right partnerships with them.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Okay, so then you all kind of brainschild some of
the partnerships. So like, let's just say I'm an athlete.
Let's just say, hey, Sabraina, how you doing. I'm Roywood junior,
stellar baseball player, fourteen home runs in one game. Listen.
I think it's time that I start monetizing myself with
the Pack ten. I want to come up with my
well partner, the well it's about to be the PAC twenty,
(06:53):
the way they emerging all these conferences, Sabrina, I want
to I think the pack towy should I have. I
want to create my own cryptocurrency coin. Is that something
you all could help me with or is it just
you go, you shouldn't do that, or that's a good idea,
go figure it out.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
No.
Speaker 7 (07:11):
I mean the thing is a lot of these athletes
still have agents, and so if you're in the top
you know, division of in your sport on you know
a lot of the high name, high profile athletes, you're
still having your regular marketing agents that they're hiring now
in college to help with that. But on a bigger
you know, on a kind of a bigger level. This
(07:33):
is also like team base so it's like division street
helps you know, if there's a donor that wants to
help with investments and not just donate money to the university,
but actually see their money work in these athletes. It's like, Okay,
let's partner with an investment company that will help teams
at hole figure out how to invest the donor can
you know, pay money towards all of these athletes being
(07:54):
able to use their brand and investing. So it is
also on an individual level, like athlete wanted to get
involved in coinbase and they can.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Always reach out and we can see what we could do.
Speaker 7 (08:04):
But it's also on a team base with a lot
of these athletes that might not have the brand and
the relationships as the one or two percent of the
student athletes do. But it's also giving them an opportunity
to make money while they're in college as well.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
So what about fan interaction? Is there a way to
I'm going to tell you a brief story and one
that made me really sad, but it also kind of
made me a little gratifying. So years ago, I did
David Letterman. I did comedy on David Letterman. The couch
guest that night was Pete Rose. Pete Rose was rude
(08:37):
as shit, and I'll say that on the record. It
is what it is great baseball player rude as shit
to young comedians and like a couple of years later,
I saw him in Vegas in front of a sports
store at an autograph table and there was no one
in line, and it just I don't know why that
(08:57):
warmed my soul the way it did, but it did, Sabrina. So,
how do you all build a bridge between the players
and the fans, because I think now you know, when
you look at social media, it's about accessibility. It's not
just enough to root for your favorite guy, but you
want to be able to touch them or interact with
them some way. But that's also something that could lead
(09:19):
to infraction. So how do y'all help the players navigate
the relationships in terms of marketing themselves and the Oregon
brand with the fans.
Speaker 7 (09:28):
You know, well, a lot of that is team based,
Like we were doing things with fans. Obviously this was
pre COVID when I was there, but we signed autographs
once a week and we're able to really engage with
our fan base.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
But I think there's also.
Speaker 7 (09:40):
Being able to incorporate fan interaction into deals, like, for example,
we just did this airbnb deal at the University of
Oregon for particular athletes, and it's basically this airbnb that
is all decorated with this particular player. This player right
now is no school who plays on the football team
and all inside division. Street has decorated it with his jersey,
(10:03):
things that he likes, food, whatever, you know, whatever it is,
it is all ducked out with cool things that you know,
make Noah and Noah you get that fan interaction. And
they're able to rent it out for the football games
for the weekends for fans to come in and be
able to stay in kind of Noah's house and kind
of have that interaction with this is what he likes.
(10:24):
He might stop buy and say hi. And I think
these are all super important and they mean a lot
to fans.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
You know.
Speaker 7 (10:30):
It's like we we signed autographs all the time. Little
kids were crying so happy to meet us, and you
really are an inspiration and their mentor, and so it
really means a lot to give back to the community
that they come watch you, support you at your highs
and lows. So we're trying to do everything we can
and keep integrating, you know, fans and the fan experience,
(10:50):
keeping that as a priority.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
This concept of paying college athletes is starting to bleed
into paying high school athletes. And so you know, and
I know you know about what over Time Elite is.
But if it's incorrect me if I'm giving this summation wrong.
But they're basically a paid amateur league for children that
are not yet in college. And so there are a
few high schoolers now that are quitting their high school
(11:13):
team to go make money now playing travel ball. And
they give the kids an education, and they give them tutors,
and they give them everything they need schoolastically to get
them through high school. But it's this paid pipeline into
the NBA that seems like an express lane to get
you around the rigamarole of college athletics. But there's part
(11:34):
of me that I'm still trying to find where the
downside is to it. And I wonder if this concept
of money and trying to get money as soon as
possible could be a bad thing for some athletes. What's
your opinions on that.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
Yeah, you know, I think money is the root of
all evils, So I do think that, you know, if
I have to look in the future, I do think
that's where it's trending for younger amateurs. To start getting
paid at a younger age because they want the money,
they want the cars, they want the nice things. And
that's kind of where social media has taken a lot
(12:10):
of things too, with posting about it and comparing yourself
to others.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
And so I do think it's going to get to
that level.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
But you know, I do think it could do a
lot of these athletes at disservice as well, because there
is a lot to learn from high school basketball, there
is a lot to learn from college basketball, and there's
very you know, a very small select group of these
athletes that are going to make it to the NBA.
It's a statistic that you know, we're all told in
college it's about one or two percent of us that
(12:37):
end up going to play pro. And so I think
having a degree and being able to be a part
of a team and you're not really just doing it
for the individual accolades and you know, the individual money,
but being able to do it, you know, to learn
and to grow as a person and player is really important.
So it is going to be interesting to see, you know,
where this goes and how it's going to affect a
lot of development of a younger age.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Now to be the other thing that will A lot
of these teams need, they need honest coaches. So I
played high school baseball right and we had a coach
shout out to Coach Loban. Coach Loban told us one
day we wasn't even senior yet he looked at the
whole team. He said, I'm looking at all of y'all
and I see maybe two scholarships and maybe only one
(13:18):
of you is going to get an invite to try
out for minor league balling. You're gonna get cut. Nobody's
specially on this team. Get to running.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Well. That's rare, especially in this day and age. Coaches
want to keep.
Speaker 7 (13:34):
Their jobs and everything's on social media. I feel like
having conversations the other day, it's like everything's kind of
gone a little soft, you know. It's like everything's about
not offending, not being too hard, not being too strict,
you know, not really you know, a coach. That's what
a coach is supposed to do. Motivate you, challenge you
(13:54):
to want to be better. And I think a lot
of the times, and especially with the coaches that are
new in coaching, it's like they don't really have identity,
so they don't know what to say, and they want
to please the players, so they stay and they don't transfer.
They don't leave, and transferring and you know, leaving colleges
and high schools is you know, seeing every single day now,
so it's not really look down upon or frowned upon.
So I think that's really what they're nervous about, and
(14:17):
so they might not hold someone accountable because they want
them to stay and not transfer.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Now you just opened up a whole nother can So
you know, the NCAA already gives the players the option
now of entering the transfer window, which I just like
to call college free agency. I don't like my coach,
so I'm transferring to another team and I won't have
to sit out a year because I trans I'm going
into the transfer window. All right, If we're giving players
(14:43):
endorsement deals, do we eventually find ourselves in a world
and just following this is all pie in the sky,
But do we eventually find ourselves in a world where
college teams get into bidding wars over players based on
the types of endor horsements that they can offer the players.
You know, of course, above the board per NCAA rules,
(15:07):
But do you think that this concept of paying players
could eventually lead to, you know, the types of deals
that make players choose where they want to go to
school based on how much money they're getting and not
the type of education or not even the type of
offense or where their style of play may best be suited.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
I feel like I see it already in recruiting with
kids not knowing what college to go to, and it's like, well,
I can go to Kentucky and they've promised me this
amount of dollars in endorsements, or I can go to
Oregon and I always promised this amount. So I definitely
think it's going to change the landscape of recruiting as well,
because at the end of the day, that's what these
student athletes are really enticed about. If they know that
(15:44):
they're not going to go play pro and they know
that that's not where they want to go, it's really
about how they're going to be able to build their
brand in college. And if they're able to partner with
brands at a certain university and they're not at others,
they're probably more enticed to go to that university to
start building their brands and building a business for them.
Elves in college instead of waiting until they're out of college.
So it's really going to be interesting to see. But
(16:06):
I definitely think, you know, with the transferring, and it's
going to be interesting to see a lot of you know,
what chances brands take as well in businesses, because it
can be really good at one college and you're not
happy and you want to transfer to different college, and
what if you don't don't perform the same at that
at that other college and you're tied to this long
term deal. So it's going to be interesting to see
(16:26):
what approach a lot of these businesses and brands take
as well on.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Do they give these players long term deals?
Speaker 7 (16:32):
Do they give them deals only at that College's interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
There's so many layers to this ship because now it's
like you through eight interceptions, would you mind deleting those
posts about how much you love driving our truck? Kind
of want to get your back up who's now playing
better than you and started.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I'm happy.
Speaker 7 (16:58):
I'm happy for that student, but I am happy I
didn't have to deal with a lot of these things
while I was playing, because it's just a lot, Like
you said, there's a lot of layers to it. There's
a lot of added pressure to perform alongside the pressure
that you have on yourself.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So it'll be interesting.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Do you think this will like breed jealousy in the
locker room, like because it feels like I might not
I might want to punt you in the face. You
got the Gatorade deal and I didn't, but I got
more points than you.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Yes. Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (17:30):
I mean if it brings jealousy in the locker rooms
at a professional level, it's going to bring it.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
At a collegiate level.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
So yeah, I mean it's gonna be pointing fingers comparing.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Why do you have this deal and I don't.
Speaker 7 (17:42):
I want the ball war, And it's sometimes I think,
you know it's not gonna be you want the ball
war to be a better basketball player. It's like, well,
I have to meet these requirements to get this deal.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I got to score this many points.
Speaker 7 (17:53):
So it's going to be interesting to see if people
can keep the main goal, the main goal, which is
be the best in your be the best athlete, and
not get carried away with the nuances of these deals.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
We have to take a quick break, but I want
to talk about the future of nil deals. On the
other side of the break, because where are we going
with this? Maybe I need to like endorse a college athlete.
I got five hundred bucks. I could try to a
kid make sure if you score a touchdown, make sure
you say visit Roywood Junior dot com or something stupid.
(18:27):
What does the future look like for student athletes when
it comes to these name and likeness deals like you know,
being paid and you know equity as a whold Like,
do you think this is a net positive across the board?
Speaker 7 (18:38):
I think it will be, But I think it's going
to be telling on who the elite in their sports
are and who are doing it for the wrong reasons.
And I think that's going to come to like a
little bit sooner than it normally does.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And I think it's going to be.
Speaker 7 (18:51):
Really telling whether a lot of these kids in high
school or college are you know, willing to sacrifice making
a lot of money for posting things or for going
to shoots and really focus on putting an extra work,
going to the gym, having the right group of people
around them too. That the agent business and all that stuff,
can you know, can be really tricky and a lot
(19:12):
of these times these agents want to get paid and
they don't really care what's in the best in just
of you as an athlete and seeing you succeed as
a person. So it's going to be interesting to see
who these athletes really trust. How the age of business
is going to change as well. And you know, you
are who your friends are, you are who's in your circles,
So you know, maybe it'll make these you know, college
kids and high school kids have to mature a lot
(19:34):
faster because they're going to have to really trust those
people that are making decisions around them.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
For a lot of young athletes, right and we know
money could be a deciding fact on whether or not
they can continue playing, but you know they have the
pay to play leagues, the travel leagues. Do you think
that model would help kids keep playing sports? And if not,
with that model be helpful.
Speaker 7 (19:54):
Yeah, I mean my parents had to bend over backwards
to you know, keep me in my a team. You know,
it's like you play all summer long, and you travel
across the country, games every tournaments, every single weekend. I
had siblings as well, and so it gets really expensive.
So it's definitely not easy to do. And there's only
(20:15):
kind of a certain percentage of people that are able
to do so. But I definitely think it's up to me,
and it's up to a lot of you know, the
other athletes and people of influence that have kind of
walked that path to be able to do what we
can to give back, whether that's sponsored teams, help with
uniforms and gear bawls, you know, everything adds up. And
I just remember every year it's like uniforms, three hundred
(20:35):
dollars for a uniform. It's like that's expensive for some families.
And so just trying to use my platform and the
resources that I have, you know, with my brands at
nikear or wherever it is, to be like this will
help families a lot. Let's donate uniforms, Let's fund this tournament,
whatever it is to just you know, keep having kids
play but not have to have their parents sacrifice as
(20:58):
much as they do.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
We talk about gender pay inequity. How has the name
and likeness deals, like, how does that affected student athletes?
More specifically, has it affected the earning potential for female athletes?
Because I really think, you know what preaching to the
choir here, but like, how do we make sure that
in this space of money already being allocated unevenly. How
(21:22):
do we make sure that these names and likeness deals,
can you know, kind of stay above the board, you know,
for women athletes to see.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah, I think it's more beneficial than harmful.
Speaker 7 (21:30):
And I think so because you're really given an opportunity
to use your platform to the best of your ability,
and sometimes that isn't even tied with performance. So I
know that there's some athletes at the University of Oregon
and other universities.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
They could be D two D three athletes.
Speaker 7 (21:47):
And they're not known for their sport, but they're on
TikTok or they're on Instagram, social media and their influencers
for whatever they're doing, and they're getting paid more than
some of the men and male athletes in sport that
are average or above average, that don't have an image
or don't use their social media platform. So I really
do think that it gives everyone this opportunity to be
(22:11):
uniquely themselves and if that is able to provide a
steady income and to you know, to help you, I
think great. If you're not great at basketball, but you're
great at dancing on TikTok and you can make a
good amount of money, then good for you.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Here's an ignorant question. Here's a question that I'm very
ignorant too. So like when you look at, like, all right,
March Maddness, the twenty twenty one March Madness tournament, which
was during the shutdown, still a lot of COVID happening,
and the way that they handled the women's training area
during March Madness versus what the men had.
Speaker 7 (22:46):
Oregon Sedona Prince gave us a glimpse of the weight
room differences in a social media video last Thursday.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
So, for the NCAA March Madness, the biggest tournament in
college basketball for women, this is our weight room.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Make show you all the men's weight room.
Speaker 7 (23:03):
As you can see, the men were provided with a
lot more equipment than the women.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Damn, that's ice cold, because that's not a weight room.
That's just the wreck of weights that you buy in
the beginning of quarantine and then never use. And honestly,
this is surprising because usually the nc DOUBLEA treats male
and female athletes equally. I mean, they definitely pay them
both the same amounts.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Let's just say I'm an auto manufacturer and I want
to give male athlete a thousand dollars to say drive
this truck. And then I turn around and I give
a woman athlete five hundred dollars to say drive this truck.
Is there any type of regulations on that for where
the NC DOUBLEA or anyone can say, hey, no, you
have to pay them the same amount of money or
is it solely up to the third parties who are hiring.
Speaker 7 (23:48):
The athletes as of now, I think it's solely, you know,
up to whatever they want to decide. But I think
that's a really cool thing that I've been able to
see and anointnance that being a part of Divisions Street is,
especially at Oregon is a lot of these donors love
the teams, regardless if they're women's teams, you know, men's teams,
and I think they're so willing to help us as athletes.
(24:12):
I'm not even an athlete anymore. I forgot them as
athletes at the University of Oregon that you know, they
want equality. They want to pay a men's basketball player
the same as a women's basketball player. So I think
it does really start with who's donating the money and
what they stand for. But hopefully, at you know, one point,
(24:32):
there will be a regulation on even teams right like
acro and tumbling at Oregon doesn't get the notoriety that
women's basketball does. But how can we help them also
be able to make a living and you know, make
more money than just their scholarship checks or even you know,
there's a lot of players that are walk ons on
these teams and they don't get money from the university
(24:53):
at all, and they pay their way and they still
put in the same amount of practice time and you know,
the same amount of work in the classrooms. So it's like,
how are we also able to give money to those
to those people to not have to work second jobs.
And so it's all really new and fresh. But I
think with the right people that are in charge, it
will be good.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Now for everything that you all are doing right now
with your company there for the University of Oregon. Have
other schools reached out at all with regards to how
they could create the same type of relationship with their players,
between players and the schools.
Speaker 7 (25:26):
Yeah, I mean, of course, you always aspire to be
the best, and I mean Phil Knight is the absolute
best and what he you know, has done at Nike
and everything that he's done for us at Oregon and
continues to do at Oregon. And so he's also kind
of evolved with the time of all right, analyze now
a thing, what are we going to do to help
(25:47):
the to the Oregon student athletes, And you know, he
came up with something really fast, got the right people
on board, and so I know that there's a bunch
of other schools that you know, are trying to figure
out what we do and how they can do it
because it is, you know, a competitive advantage and it
is benefiting a lot of the student athletes actually ever
seen one of them, and so it'll be exciting to
see if a lot of the other schools do it.
(26:09):
And I'm excited to see what we're going to continue
to do better than all the other ones.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
So go Ducks. It's interesting because it's like we're Division
Street and we're helping be a bridge and help the
athletes monetize themselves, and we want everyone to do this,
but we also don't want you stealing the way that
we help our athletes because you may recruit the same
athlete as us. But yay, everybody, Sabrina, best of luck
to you in the WNBA season to come. Thank you
(26:36):
so much for taking us Beyond the Scenes, we heard
from w NBA stars Sabrina I and Escu on how
the NCAA's name and image likeness deals are changing college sports.
In this bonus episode of Beyond the Scenes, I wanted
to sit down with my friend, fellow correspondent and co
host of the sports segment we do on the show.
(26:57):
I apologize for talking while you're talking, Michael Costa. Costa,
how you doing, man, Welcome to Beyond the Scenes.
Speaker 8 (27:04):
Thanks Roy, It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Man.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
We wanted you here today, Costa because we want you
to bring a professional tennis plane expertise to this program.
You know you are a professional, former professional ad are
you still professional? I don't know. Bottom line, you got
a check from the World Tennis. Was it Major League Tennis?
Speaker 6 (27:22):
What's it called Major League Tennis Association of Tennis Professionals.
Speaker 8 (27:25):
Yeah. I also got some fines, Roy.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
So one time in Montreal, I threw a ball at
my opponent and hit him in the neck, and then
they wrote up the fine as.
Speaker 8 (27:35):
Mister Costa, which I loved.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
They had to say, like, all fancy deliberately threw a
ball at his opponent and I got fined two hundred
and fifty dollars and my check that week was one
hundred dollars, so I was negative one fifty that week.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Tennis to me is different because it's an individual sport. Also,
I can see your face, so I feel like from
a marketing standpoint, if you're a popular tennis player, or
you're an playing for a school with tennis as popular,
you have an advantage over the backup left offensive lineman,
guard guy who no one knows. Like with these names
(28:10):
and likeness deals, do you think there's going to be
a difference in playing an individual versus the team sport
or is it just all the same pot.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
Well, excellent question, and think about some of the highest
paid professional athletes. Tennis is always in there, especially on
the women's side. You can see the face.
Speaker 8 (28:26):
You see a.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
Lot of the face, and as an affluent sport, the
brands it attracts. It's Lexus, it's Heineken, it's Mercedes. I
mean these are expensive brands.
Speaker 8 (28:37):
So yes. Historically this is also.
Speaker 6 (28:41):
Why tennis was protected from a lot of the cuts
that athletic departments make because their alumni have money. The
wrestling teams would get cut more often because there's not
as many wealthy alumn who used to wrestle. I'm generalizing,
but I do think the sport will matter. I think
(29:02):
basketball players can market themselves better than football players. Most
of the face is covered on football. Some teams don't
even say the last name on the jersey in football, so.
Speaker 8 (29:13):
You got to like, yeah, Google, who is that? Who's
the quarterback? And Notre Dame?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
You know, Yeah, it's like like there on top of that,
like the with football, personality is what you have to
use to transcend having the helmet on. But then the NCAA,
God forbid. You're more than happy that you made a
good catch, it's a fifteen yard penalty. You can't even
it's taunting. They'll bring back a touchdown if you're too
(29:37):
happy on the way to the end zone. Yeah, So
how do you overcome the rules and regulations of the
sport and the masking of your face? That means you
just got to be showboating on the sideline.
Speaker 6 (29:48):
Yeah, you got Johnny Manzela, and you see how well
you know he was flagged every time he showed her personality.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
He was going like this, he was going like this
before there was the money, the cash.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
Yeah, so you know, I don't love name image likeness promotion.
I think it does promote individuality. I think it does
promote focusing on your brand.
Speaker 8 (30:12):
I would just love it. I've said it before.
Speaker 6 (30:15):
If the team the end of you know, they pooled
the money and they split the money up and freshmen
got this and sophomores got this, and it was based
on the TV deal. But again, the NCAA, they fought
name image likeness pretty hard. They are not going to
want to approve any revenue sharing.
Speaker 8 (30:32):
From tickets or TV. But I think that is the
most fair.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
Solution because it would be like Roy if we got
rewarded for being more selfish at the Daily Show, if
we were given more money. And now I'm fighting you
and Ronnie and DESI get and it's just that's not
a team environment.
Speaker 8 (30:49):
So it's a good question.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
You ask. You played tennis in University of Illinois, yep,
in your time when you were in college. Just just
talk because you know this is I'm bringing this up
because we love to talk about whatever. Athletes don't need
to get paid. They getting enough money. Don't talk to
me about how much work goes into how much commitment
(31:12):
it takes to be a sement athlete, give me, give
me a schedule, your training schedule.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
Well, you know, I played tennis at University of Illinois
and then I coached two years at University of Michigan.
And I'll start as I'll start with my perspective as
a coach, because as the assistant coach of men's tennis
University of Michigan, half of my job was an Excel
sheet where I kept track of the hours of my
(31:37):
athletes to make sure they weren't spending in the on
season more than twenty hours a week on tennis. In
the offseason it was less, but every single hour is
accounted for when you are, as the NCAA likes to say,
a student athlete.
Speaker 8 (31:53):
But when I played, I.
Speaker 6 (31:55):
Don't even know where I could have found the time
to promote my likeness, my brand. It's been to me
be very interesting to me to see how these athletes
going forward do this, because Broy, you're also trying to
get a degree.
Speaker 8 (32:07):
You're also trying to do what your coaches are asking you.
Speaker 6 (32:10):
If you have aspirations to be a professional, you have
to also do above what your coach is asking you.
You got to continue to improve your actual skills in
the sport.
Speaker 8 (32:22):
So I might be more old school on this, but I.
Speaker 6 (32:24):
Just I don't know how many athletes are really gonna
be able to successfully pull this off.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
When you all were playing, did y'all ever just sit
and think, Man, I need some money. Somebody need to
be paying me for this shit. Dude.
Speaker 6 (32:36):
The Illinois tennis team was popular, We were successful. Our
tickets were free and and yo we had people show up.
Speaker 8 (32:45):
That was amazing.
Speaker 6 (32:46):
But no, there was you know, for me, this isn't
getting my education paid for was what was enough. But
I wasn't walking around campus seeing people wearing Costa jerseys,
even though that would have been awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Do you see any drawbacks to name and likeness deals?
You know, so you know, to to kind of to
dovetail off of what Sabrino is just talking about about
how it could breed some level of jealousy in the
locker room amongst players. Do you agree with that costume?
Speaker 4 (33:15):
I do.
Speaker 6 (33:15):
I mean, especially it's individual name, image, and likeness is
very individual. And on the ultimate team sport football, you
know that guy has to block so three things work
in order so this guy can score a touchdown.
Speaker 8 (33:30):
I mean, it's the ultimate team sport.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
It's you're you're only as strong as your weakest link.
Speaker 8 (33:34):
It's gonna be tough.
Speaker 6 (33:35):
It's gonna be another thing the coaches have to manage too.
I mean I was a coach. These are competitive, somewhat irrational,
extraordinarily hard working.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Young men, spoiled sometimes spoiled.
Speaker 6 (33:49):
In tennis especially, And you're gonna throw in this guy's
making money for a tweet. This guy isn't hey, can
you introduce me to your agent?
Speaker 7 (33:57):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (33:58):
Sorry, you didn't win your match yesterday. It's complicated. It's very,
very complicated.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
So then do you think as buy and large as
a whole? Is this name enlighteness stuff? Is this a
good thing by the NCUBA or is it a smoke screen?
Speaker 6 (34:11):
I think it's a very small step, and I think
they're trying to give a little bit to the athlete
to say, see, we are adapting.
Speaker 8 (34:20):
But I believe.
Speaker 6 (34:22):
It's not something to easily execute because there's no time
for the athlete to really focus on this. I, if
I want to be pessimistic, I think it's a smoke screen.
So they try to avoid sharing TV revenue with these athletes.
I think the NCAA is terrified of splitting TV revenue
(34:43):
with athletes, which is why they almost kind of gave
them this name image likeness thing because Sabrina's just saying
sometimes she wouldn't even eat, she was practicing so hard.
I want to see the athletes get money from the
TV deals, then they don't have to promote or brand
or retweet.
Speaker 8 (35:01):
Just give them some of the money from the money.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
With the putt. Yes, with the pot for a lot
of young athletes, right, and we know money could be
a deciding factor on whether or not they can continue playing,
but you know they have to pay to play leagues,
the travel leagues. Do you think that model would help
kids keep playing sports? And if not, with that model
be helpful.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
I only know from this perspective of tennis and tennis
is primarily an affluent sport, But there are families that
don't have as much money that graduate kids that become
great tennis players.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Great.
Speaker 8 (35:34):
You know the King Richard movies.
Speaker 6 (35:35):
Out now about Richard Williams with what he did to
help Serena and Venus.
Speaker 8 (35:39):
But families, it is expensive raising a kid.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
It's even more expensive preparing a kid to become world
class out of sport. In my opinion, anything you could
do to help the families, whether it be money or
resources to keep these kids on track athletically, would benefit.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Okay, if there were leagues in place, and if the
NBA G League starts paying a little bit more, they
probably won't because the NBA, I think, is in bed
with NC Double A. But if you have these AAU
and these paid travel ball programs that are promising players
one hundred thousand dollars whether they get drafted or not,
to go to college, then if I'm a good athlete
(36:21):
coming out of high school and I'm Duke or I'm
whatever blue U n C or whatever blue blood basketball
program Kentucky, if I'm Kentucky, I'm not only competing against
other colleges. I'm now competing against a league that's gonna
put money in this kid's pocket right now. And he
may not get enough money from his Snapchat deal or
his stupid Hey everybody, like like in Birmingham right now,
(36:44):
a bunch of the Alabama players, they're all on TV
telling you where to go eat barbecue, and shit, It's
like I know where to get barbecue. Do you think
the NC DOUBLEA, because of the pressure is created by
outside paid amateur organizations will have we have to consider
sharing that pot.
Speaker 6 (37:04):
They absolutely will, because you can't tell an eighteen year
old kid whose family doesn't have enough money or has
spent a lot of their money helping this kid become
a great basketball player or whatever, baseball player, whatever the
sport is. You can't keep this narrative of they're getting
paid with the education. I'm not saying education isn't important.
(37:26):
It is, but money pays the rent. It's going to
be a problem, and I think the NCAA knows it.
They're fighting, but I do think, and this might be
pessimistic to say, I do think the players are going
to follow the money, especially if you're talking like it's
like it's big enough money. One hundred thousand dollars is
(37:46):
a lot now. As a tennis player, I just didn't
have that opportunity. I don't think we ever will because
college tennis is not raking in the money. So for me,
it was an added benefit to get the education. But
in Sabrina's case, I mean, people are making real dollars
off of her and she can't get a burrito at Chipotle.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
What here's my doomsday scenario. So you have a league
like overtime elite. Right, Like, if the question is where
are we going? Where's where's all of this going? You know,
where are we going with this issue and name and like,
and I tell you where I think we're going, Costa.
I think we're going to a spot where college athletics,
(38:30):
if they are not careful, becomes the new minor leagues
of athletics. So if you have and I think it
all if we just let me take that back just basketball.
Let's just talk basketball. This all boils down to which
horse the NBA bets on. So if I'm a high
school kid, I just had this high school kid on
(38:50):
my podcast, Roy's Job Fair, part of the iHeartMedia podcast.
At this kid's mom on the podcast, he quit his
high school team to make money for a pro am team.
He plays pro am while still enrolled in high school
with the bet with the guarantee that he gets one
hundred thous for college, whether he goes overseas, whether he
goes to the G League, or whether he gets drafted
(39:13):
hundred thout guarantee. Now, if that kid, if those kids start,
enough of those kids make that leap from pro am
straight to the NBA or into the G League. Why
would the NBA still bother drafting college. You draft a
college kid or too, But if you're a college kid
worth your weight, why would you still go to college?
If this is now the proven route, So if that
starts working out for more and more people, I think
(39:36):
that's the way all of the five star athletes are
gonna go. I'd sound like a crazy sports round, I'm sorry,
but like I think, if the NBA up the pay
in the G League to compete with the pro am leagues,
then the G League becomes the new college. That becomes
a new place to go and try it.
Speaker 6 (39:56):
Look, if they're gonna pay the athlete a per DM
stipend and seventy five hundred a year, then it's not
going to happen. But one hundred thousand dollars is a
lot of money. And yeah, Kentucky has cool shorts, and
yeah the Duke has great student fans, but nobody's gonna
give a shit for one hundred thousand dollars. They're going
(40:17):
to follow the money and we'll see. We are at
a pivotal time in collegiate sport. I think the fans
don't want to admit it. The real diehard fans, But
everybody else is now doing the economics of ticket sales. Dude,
CBS just renewed March Madness for eight years for nine
(40:41):
billion dollars b billion. Anybody who's reluctant to hearing about
revenue sharing, you don't realize how much money is being
made off of these athletes. So they got to adjust
because you're right, if the G League or whomever, the
Pro aram League is offering one hundred grand, two hundred grand,
bye Kentucky by Duke.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Yeah, and so then who are you left with playing
for Kentucky.
Speaker 8 (41:05):
It's gonna be like me. Also, you know what else
is crazy?
Speaker 6 (41:10):
Roy the coach of Duke makes fourteen million, fifteen million,
sixteen million. Yeah, it's like everybody around is making all
this money.
Speaker 1 (41:18):
So I bet you.
Speaker 8 (41:21):
I bet you're a pretty good ball handler.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Though no baseball was my thing. Okay, okay, My issue
with basketball is just I just don't like people in
my face. And that's you get away from me.
Speaker 8 (41:32):
That's my job of the defender.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
I would have loved tennis. That's a nice, spacious sport,
excellent sport, excellent hell away from me.
Speaker 8 (41:39):
Yeah, you're like seventy eight feet from each other. Dude,
it's great.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
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