With the House v. NCAA settlement still pending approval, The Athletic senior writer Ralph Russo joined us on Thursday's edition of TexAgs Live to talk NIL and the transfer portal. Russo also delved into the Aggies' offensive line entering Mike Elko's second year as head coach.
Key notes from Ralph Russo interview
- The idea of a presidential commission on college sports seems to have happened after Nick Saban and Donald Trump had a conversation in Tuscaloosa. It's important to explain what a commission is not. It's not a law-making body. It's almost a think tank with the President's power and approval. Why do we get together and talk about these issues and find solutions? Hopefully, they are actionable, it's a good idea, and the power of the Presidency can push things along. It's important enough to have a commission by the president. Maybe it will motivate people to have a solution and give lawmakers in Congress the motivation to cover and talk about this issue.
- Think about this perspective. They need college legislation, whether a settlement passes or not. Still, there is a lot of stuff going on in this country right now. The public loves the idea that we have immigration and tax cuts, but Congress is taking on college sports. Maybe a presidential commission is the President's signing off on tackling the issue. None of those things can be more symbolic than they are tangible solutions that come out of the commission. They can produce ideas, but not a law.
- It's not the President's job to understand what is going on in college sports. If you can understand at a surface level, things are not great here. Even the people who are only dipping into it — not at the level like us, but fans — understand things don't seem to be working here the best way for fans and athletes in schools. Understanding that, then getting to experts, this is where a commission comes in great. It's only as good as the people sitting on a commission. Bringing experts together, some diverse thoughts and expertise and different ways of looking at this subject seems to be a good idea. It's probably an idea that would have been effective seven to eight years ago. We are beyond college sports and the curve. It's been a trend for two decades.
- We don't have enough people within the space working in collegiate sports. It's a byproduct of the way the whole enterprise is set up. Everybody is concerned about their thing. If you work in the SEC, you worry about the SEC. If you work at A&M, you worry about A&M. Everyone is most concerned about their space, hence there's a blind spot protecting the entity at large in college football.
- With Saban being away from Alabama, it's good to have him and others who are thinking about the entirety and not prioritizing what's in their backyard. Is Saban the right guy? He's outdated. What is progress? We can't dial back on this stuff, but people need to understand that players are getting paid now. It's a starting point. It’s figuring out now how to pay them properly in an unfair market and allow movement without infringing their rights. I worry that what Saban envisions is outdated and standing in the way of the progress that's been made.
- NIL became the de facto salary. That's what it transitioned into. The idea now is that revenue sharing is the salary. We are going to have a salary structure for players. The question becomes, is there NIL in third parties and collectives that are available to these athletes, can that be regulated and is not, "Here's $500,000, sign this football.” I don't know the answer. Can it be regulated? I think the first part is super important.
- I believe it's not simple to fix, but I think you can rein in the movement, transfer and get it to the players with more freedom. Now they have too much. If we can regulate the transfer movement and get that down to a manageable level, then we bring the free agency market down, and they can't renegotiate every six months. I wonder if the core of all of this is getting the transfer rules under control, the money flows with it, and it settles and is regulated to a more reasonable system.
- If we keep moving on a linear path from where we came when A&M joined the SEC, we have moved in the direction you mentioned. Whether it's a few conferences or a super league of 60 teams, maybe the Big Ten and SEC are the paths we are moving along. Talking about someone in the industry, about the idea, the reason I'm so sure we are going that direction is that there are so many factors outside that may change the trajectory. Maybe it's federal legislation. They say we can keep doing this with the conferences, maybe the government steps in and says it's ridiculous. You’re hurting other schools. Maybe it's wherever the media industry goes into a degree and bursts or plateaus.
- Higher education is in a weird spot, and many factors that affect the future of college sports are and aren't directly tied to the future.
- I do think Mike Elko seems like his career is short enough that No. 1: Yes, the jury is still out as to what he will do at A&M. You’re more than welcome to still be cautious and optimistic. In the short term, you nailed it. They overachieved last year, and then the record became familiar. But it felt a little better from others. It felt like a good beginning.
- The O-line is huge. They didn’t go portal shopping, and Marcel Reed is the guy. It's an interesting statement about who he is and his talent. You bring in portal receivers, who hopefully create explosive plays that were lacking last year. The running back is healthy. The defensive front is not as good, but A&M is better in the back end. I think it adds up with what you said, it's progress, and the roster is great. But compared to the top of the SEC, you need one more full recruiting class and a freshman class to develop. They’re still a year a from banging heads with the top of the SEC.
- Texas is at the top of the SEC, and that creates an angst for the Aggies to hit a fast-forward button. We can't be 9-3 and satisfied when Texas is competing for a national championship. I think the dynamic of what happened in Austin and College Station is interesting and accelerates the angst in College Station.
