advertising and other licensing deals that involved their NIL.... not just to get paid to play.

In my view, NIL money should be paid by advertisers and or licensees... not by fans or schools simply to "hire" the services of an athlete.

I spend my money on tickets and merchandise to support the program. I feel zero desire to pay an 18/yo kid — who isn't even a professional caliber athlete — more money than actual professional athletes, to play a game that the rest of us non-professional athletes play for fun on the weekends for free.

The whole appeal of college sports for me is amateurism and affinity towards a school. NIL in its current form, along with the xfer portal, have ruined both of those things. If I want to watch professional sports, I can go to the NBA or NFL, which I've given up on years ago. So, the way college has gone, I think I'm going to find myself merely a casual fan who catches a game when convenient, but otherwise doesn't follow anything in the offseason especially.

Recruiting was somewhat interesting... watching players on an auction block is not.

I don't want to cheer for a jersey, I wanted to cheer for individuals and an institution that I felt represented something that I identified with.