With so many new faces, I like the feature.  I also enjoyed the game films on Leon's Twitter feed.  One thing to consider might be switching to an interview format where the interviewer could help bring out some of the interesting points in the player's story.  Although I think Leon did very well with this format, it might be easier for some guys to have more of a dialogue than a monologue; but a good idea in general.  

Econ69 wrote:

I wonder if Jordan Rooney, the personal brand coach, organized
this feature for Ayers.

 

They did this exact same thing with all the new guys James Ellis’ freshman year, I specifically remember his interview but they did all the new guys then too.

Just your typical off-season fluff. That being said, you make a good point that this could essentially serve as an interview for potential sponsors for Ayers in the age of name, image, and likeness.

It will be so interesting to see how all of that plays out this year. So far I have heard about college football players (star p5 guys) getting $500-$1,000 deals with car dealerships and sandwich shops, and Oklahoma’s QB will apparently do a personalized 30 second video message for anyone willing to pay him $150 through the Cameo site a la Antonio Brown during his peak meltdown period a couple years ago.

That seems like small peanuts and the tip of the ice berg for what’s to come in big time college sports. I would be shocked if those guys weren’t making much much more than that under the table over the past couple decades (and I’m sure that will continue to go on).

Also recently read an article about Reggie Bush, who is a hot topic now because he and USC lost their national title, his Heisman, and all his indiv. NCAA records due to his pay to play scandal which amounted to around $300k in benefits, something that is now completely legal.

Bush and the University are asking that everything be reinstated retroactively under the new guidelines. The article also estimated that Reggie Bush would have likely made approx $4mm a year in college under this model due to his fame, charisma, and playing for a storied program nestled in Hollywood. Scary to think what might be coming from this perspective for big time college football.

They may add more teams to the playoff model, but to me this now pushes a school like Pitt further from having a realistic chance to make it, unless they can pay or offer SEC or west coast money. Get ready for the revitalization of PAC 12 football.

But ultimately I think about how this affects us, specifically basketball. We are so far removed from the examples I reference above. Will a guy like Leon Ayers stand to make ANYTHING under this new model? Will this help or hurt us as a program as compared to where things stand now? What kind of sponsors can these kids realistically get? Time will tell, but at this point everything seems like the Wild West.

Last edited by Duques102 (7/04/2021 12:22 am)