What do you think now about bowl opt-outs?

[Dores137]

To me it helps to look at what could potentially happen to a player. Going into the 2015 Fiesta bowl, Notre Dame Linebacker Jaylon Smith was considered by most to be a first round pick in the upcoming draft. He chose to play in the game but tore his ACL and suffered nerve damage that left some thinking he might never play again.

Before the injury many thought he would be be a top 10 pick. Post injury, during the draft evaluation process he was considered a 3rd or 4th round pick by many. He ended up being drafted early in the second round, at 34th overall by the Cowboys. He got a 4 year 6.495 million dollar contract, about 9.5 million less than if he had been selected at 10th overall and 20 million less than if he had been selected 5th overall. He did have insurance going into the Fiesta bowl, but that only paid out about $700,000 even if he had never played another down.

Can you really fault players for skipping a bowl game when they are risking potentially tens of millions of dollars that could set up their families for life? While the insurance does help monetary, it isn't the full answer. Personally, I would have trouble advising a young man to risk his dream and millions of dollars so he could play in the Jimmy Kimmel Bowl. In most of the opt out situations I saw, their teammates and coaches fully supported them. Tyler Badie wanted to play in Mizzou’s bowl game, but his coach made the decision to not let him play because he felt it was in Badie’s best interest.

[FayetteDore]

I think the bowls should just start paying the big time players to play the game.

Actually, that's not a bad idea -- but extend it to all players on the team. Given that the NIL door is apparently wide open, why couldn't the bowl's title sponsors, the bowl itself, and the lesser sponsors simply pay them. They routinely use photos of players at local events and venues to promote the bowl.

It would be even more of an incentive to get to a bowl, and to get to a better (higher paying) bowl. And to actually play in it.

I mean, since we've already gone full mercenary anyway.

[vandy05]

I think the bowls should just start paying the big time players to play the game.

Its an exhibition that has turned into a giant commercial for the bowl sponsor. Did you see the mayo bath, the Cheez-Its bath, the french fry bath, etc. Now a coach has to get a bath in the particular food item from the sponsor if its a food company.

If the athletes are playing a starring role in the commercial, why shouldn't they be paid???

[thefan]

their room and board, their tuition, and any other expenses they caused the university! Maybe be sued for breach of contract like the "real" world; might give them some college training concerning "real world" experience instead of the pampering they have gotten so far!

[DeefromAtlanta]

It doesn't bother me anymore. It's a vastly different landscape.

These kids are making business decisions just like the coaches who opt out of their contracts.

[TnValleyDore]

Good thread. While I wasn’t exactly a fan of Korral, I do hope reports of a bad sprain only are true. To 1970’s point, I hate to see star players opt out of NY6 bowls as happened in the Peach Bowl. That was arguably the biggest game Pitt has played in years but the playoff has made it a “don’t care”.

I do wonder when we will see the first playoff game opt out. One aspect no one has brought up is that this should be a big incentive against playoff expansion.

[vujoe]

I am opposed to opt outs for one reason. You are part of a team. Being so selfish to let your teammates down then you don't deserve your reward.

[vandy05]

Good thread. While I wasn’t exactly a fan of Korral, I do hope reports of a bad sprain only are true. To 1970’s point, I hate to see star players opt out of NY6 bowls as happened in the Peach Bowl. That was arguably the biggest game Pitt has played in years but the playoff has made it a “don’t care”.

I do wonder when we will see the first playoff game opt out. One aspect no one has brought up is that this should be a big incentive against playoff expansion.

I don't think you'll see an opt-out for a playoff game because those games are actually being played for something. They're not a giant exhibition/commercial. There is something at stake. There is nothing at stake in the TaxAct Bowl.

[vandy05]

I am opposed to opt outs for one reason. You are part of a team. Being so selfish to let your teammates down then you don't deserve your reward.

What about the coaches? Lincoln Riley was part of the Oklahoma football team. He left them. Mario Cristobal was part of the Oregon football team. He left them. Its getting really tired to me to hear people roasting the players and letting the coaches off the hook. You're not lame vujoe, but the argument is. The adults should not get a pass while the kids are lambasted.

Also, people are part of a team at work all the time. You work hard with people on a project for three years and then you give two weeks notice before going to your next job. Its not an exact analogy, but its pretty close. I think its high time we stop blaming players for looking out for themselves and their families, especially in a sport where you get thrown in the garbage after an injury.

[TnValleyDore]

I may be naive and old-fashioned, but I’d like to think the chance to win a NY6 bowl still has some meaning. The TaxAct Bowl may be another matter.

[Johnmn555]

If you think it's ok to opt out of a bowl game, then why not opt out of the last game of the regular season, or the second half of the regular season, if a player's draft status seems safe?

Some players should and perhaps will in the future. If your draft position is secure (there is always risk in thinking that), then you can move on.

Another great development in college football. Come to think of it, I guess all recent developments have been bad.

[FayetteDore]

I may be naive and old-fashioned, but I’d like to think the chance to win a NY6 bowl still has some meaning. The TaxAct Bowl may be another matter.

Quick, without looking: what ARE the NY6 bowls anymore?

Two of the traditional ones -- the Cotton and Orange bowls -- weren't played on New Years Day this year. And when did the Citrus and Outback bowls -- both played on Jan. 1, 2022 -- become big? Remember when Spurrier used to jive UT with "You can't spell Citrus without U T," because the Citrus was considered a lesser bowl. It was once the Tangerine Bowl. The Outback was previously the Hall of Fame Bowl, even for several years after it moved to Tampa, from Birmingham.

Until everything started going to hell, there were four bowls played on New Years Day: Orange, Cotton, Rose and Sugar. Everything else was for the also-rans. Going to a bowl nowadays is just a payday and another notch in your "We've been to XX consecutive bowls" bragging stats.

[Dores137]

I am opposed to opt outs for one reason. You are part of a team. Being so selfish to let your teammates down then you don't deserve your reward.

I am curious where you draw the line for what is selfish and what is personal choice. Is it selfish for a player/players to not wear a mask when in public, get vaccinated, social distancing, etc? Let’s be realistic they aren’t all doing this and because of it are at increased risk of getting covid and missing a game/games because of it due to the NCAA 10 day isolation period. They also are putting their teammates at greater risk. Obviously it is more difficult to point fingers in that case, but one could argue it is even more selfish because in it potentiall causes other players and even entire teams to miss out on the bowl game.

I realize this is a hot button topic, and I am not trying to make this a political debate here, but it does raise a point which more greatly affects us all as compared to bowl opt outs.

[vandy05]

I may be naive and old-fashioned, but I’d like to think the chance to win a NY6 bowl still has some meaning. The TaxAct Bowl may be another matter.

Quick, without looking: what ARE the NY6 bowls anymore?

Two of the traditional ones -- the Cotton and Orange bowls -- weren't played on New Years Day this year. And when did the Citrus and Outback bowls -- both played on Jan. 1, 2022 -- become big? Remember when Spurrier used to jive UT with "You can't spell Citrus without U T," because the Citrus was considered a lesser bowl. It was once the Tangerine Bowl. The Outback was previously the Hall of Fame Bowl, even for several years after it moved to Tampa, from Birmingham.

Until everything started going to hell, there were four bowls played on New Years Day: Orange, Cotton, Rose and Sugar. Everything else was for the also-rans. Going to a bowl nowadays is just a payday and another notch in your "We've been to XX consecutive bowls" bragging stats.

And your post perfectly puts why players opt out of those bowl games.

[FayetteDore]

Brent, nice job in sparking a good discussion.

Keep 'em coming. Not quite ready to put the football season aside just yet.

[bornadore57]

I'm saddened by bowl opt-outs and so many other things which have changed the world of college football that I grew up with.

Part of me says that I would have played for free and have loved every minute of it. Of course, no one would have wanted to watch me play and I probably would be in worse shape today than I already am. The other part of me recognizes that if I would have been good enough to play, I would have expected any rewards which would have come with it.

Still, I am sad. I want Vanderbilt to develop young men, through football, who can make the world a better place. I think a school like Vanderbilt has a unique opportunity to do that in a way the other 13 "cookie-cutter state schools" do not. I also want Vanderbilt to win. It seems that becomes a higher mountain to climb with every change.

Of course, being a lifelong Vandy fan, I am forever hopeful. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

[alathIN]

I am a traditionalist. I get sick to my stomach at players who opt out of anything. They made a commitment to the school, the coach, the team, and the individual players. Opting out is simply a betrayal of that commitment.

Fire away, guys.

Not going to fire anything at you... you're perfectly free to feel this way... but you'll have to drop any pretense to believing in capitalism.
The idea of risking a multi million dollar asset for free is abhorrent to capitalist economics.
And please, don't try to tout the value of a public university undergrad degree to a high round QB draft pick. Corral has already earned Ole Miss the value of his scholarship 50 times over (or more). If he signs an NFL contract he can go get a degree with change he finds in the couch.
And if his injury messes up his earning power as a pro player, Ole Miss certainly isn't going to come back and compensate him.

And I agree with the point above about why heap all the blame on the players while ignoring the coaches?
Coaches move on to bigger better paying jobs whenever they want to... and these are people who have already been paid millions from the coffers of the college Football Industrial Complex. If Brian Kelly had risked his chance at coaching LSU and blown it, he still retires a multimillionaire. The players have no such luxury.

[BrentVU]

Keep 'em coming. Not quite ready to put the football season aside just yet.

I never am.

[alathIN]

The school's definitely have an important part in that they enable these athletes to participate in football while providing a free education along with food and boarding to many whom otherwise would not have the opportunity.

If you clear away the pretenses, the 'free education' really doesn't hold up.
The marginal cost to Ole Miss or Auburn of one more student in the classroom is negligible compared to the mega-$ made from the College Football Industrial Complex. Most of these programs heavily discourage players from studying anything of value (ie, anything that will distract them from the real reason they're there).

And, for that matter, the schools and coaches are perfectly happy to withdraw the scholarship that they "committed" to, the moment it suits their interests to do so.

The cherished values of student-atleticism that the traditionalists look to have been an increasingly farcical pretense for the past 50 years. It's nostalgia for something that never existed, at least not in our lifetimes.