Are we going to pay players in sports that produce profits (football and men’s basketball, though at a school like ND women’s basketball probably shows a profit) more money? How will that square with Title 9?

Pay the QB a lot, the backup inside linebacker less, and the cross-country runner zero?

So we want players, many of whom are playing in games on which people bet millions of dollars, being part of labor unions – maybe like the Teamsters. Gee, what could go wrong with that?

The value of a scholarship covering tuition, room and board at Notre Dame is actually about $80,000 a year pre-tax, since tuition, room and board are paid with after tax dollars. The value of a Notre Dame degree is (as they say in the ad) priceless.

I understand the concern with the guy who goes to say Missouri, spends 5 years using up 4 years of eligibility and does not graduate, and might not even be close to a degree, and who learned little, and who is not going to make zip playing a pro-sport. The solution is not to pay him some cash while he is in college; the solution is to penalize the school for not keeping him on track to earn a real degree (it is not that hard to earn enough credits in 5 years, plus summer schools, to graduate).

What a stupid comment. Guy writes a freaking term paper on the inequities of college athletics and you find it necessary to nitpick a single metaphor because of your thinly-veiled political views.

You should read my first reply to you because I already answered this.

Either — the analogy is the same. Some external stimulus triggers a response that cannot be controlled.

I agree and am honestly not sure where best to start on that number, especially since there are many cases where NFL bound players come back and graduate later.