I see some posts stating that they can't believe that a business would give an athlete tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially when that athlete is just a recruit that has never played. Where is the return on investment?
I think that what people are not understanding with this line of thought is that these boosters / businesses are clearly not looking for a financial return for their enterprises. Sure, maybe they get a boost and that's great, but that's not the main goal. The main goal is to make their football team - which is part of their personal identity - better and more competitive. It's an emotional purchase with an emotional return, not a pure, hard numbers logical one. Many of these people personally have a ton of money, so it's not as if they can't afford it.
Why do I think this? Well just look at the vast sums of money already given "illegally" (in quotations because it's not actually illegal other than with a sham organization that is the NCAA) back before NIL. Technically a lot of those payments couldn't even be associated with a business or individual etc. since it was supposed to be hidden. Yet that did not stop top recruits and benchwarmers waiting their turn from getting hundreds of thousands already. Of course making payments legal now through NIL will only bring more of these payments now that they are above board.
My point is, these payments weren't "financial return seeking investments" before and there is no reason to think that they will be now. It is just a way to get money from rich people who want their football team to win into the hands of highly ranked kids. Seems fairly obvious and logical, but I admit I've been puzzled by posts questioning the return on investment. It was never about that. The football team getting better IS the return.
I think that what people are not understanding with this line of thought is that these boosters / businesses are clearly not looking for a financial return for their enterprises. Sure, maybe they get a boost and that's great, but that's not the main goal. The main goal is to make their football team - which is part of their personal identity - better and more competitive. It's an emotional purchase with an emotional return, not a pure, hard numbers logical one. Many of these people personally have a ton of money, so it's not as if they can't afford it.
Why do I think this? Well just look at the vast sums of money already given "illegally" (in quotations because it's not actually illegal other than with a sham organization that is the NCAA) back before NIL. Technically a lot of those payments couldn't even be associated with a business or individual etc. since it was supposed to be hidden. Yet that did not stop top recruits and benchwarmers waiting their turn from getting hundreds of thousands already. Of course making payments legal now through NIL will only bring more of these payments now that they are above board.
My point is, these payments weren't "financial return seeking investments" before and there is no reason to think that they will be now. It is just a way to get money from rich people who want their football team to win into the hands of highly ranked kids. Seems fairly obvious and logical, but I admit I've been puzzled by posts questioning the return on investment. It was never about that. The football team getting better IS the return.
