Pictured are speaker sponsor David Deal, Bonnoitt, and Optimist Club President David Kafitz
Jim Thorpe
In 1913, Jim Thorpe, who many argue was the greatest athlete in U.S. history, was forced to return the gold medals he had won in the 1912 Olympics. Researchers had discovered that Thorpe had played semi-pro baseball. The medals, in replica form, were restored to the Thorpe family in 1982. His offense was accepting what had to be pittance-level pay to play a sport completely unrelated to his Olympic events.
Thorpe ultimately played professional baseball, football, and basketball—sometimes consecutively during the same year.
In contrast to Thorpe’s story, and countless lesser ones over the following 70 years, today’s elite-level college athletes are in a paradigm shift where compensation becomes a bargaining chip. The pay-for-play atmosphere starts when high school athletes are being offered large sums of money to make their college decisions, and it resumes every year when the annual Transfer Portal opens up.
With all this as context, St. Andrews Optimists recently hosted Mark Bonnoitt, Director of Development for “Garnet Trust,” an ally of USC recruitment and retention efforts. Bonnoitt drew the distinction between what colleges can pay and what outside endorsements, or “Name, Image, and Likeness” are ruled by. His presentation focused on realities at USC.
In today’s landscape, the NCAA has capped what colleges can pay to induce recruits to either commit to the institution at the outset of their careers or to retain top performers. In football, most such funds compensate skill position players. N.I.L. is not limited to football, but that sport commands the bulk of the deals. The NCAA cap for institutional compensation is $20.5 million. Bonnoitt said that figure may increase over time. Such payments are considered revenue sharing.
N.I.L. rules govern how athletes are compensated for product endorsements, personal appearance, and association with local or national brands or businesses. Known within the NCAA as booster collectives, Garnet Trust was among the first 15 formed. It is a given that N.I.L. earnings can easily surpass the athlete’s share of the $20.5 million. Further, N.I.L. rules can and do vary by state, not the NCAA.
Some nationally known figures, notably former Alabama Coach Nick Saban, contend that today’s compensation climate has ruined college athletics and has destroyed the concepts of amateurism and loyalty.
Bonnoitt, on the other hand, pointed to good things that the current situation has generated:
1. Viewership is enjoying a record year, across all sports.
2. There is less chance of perennial national championship winners.
3. The rise of football programs formerly regarded as mediocre achievers to Top 10 status, such as Indiana, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss.
