The Hotline mailbag typically publishes each Friday. Given the extraordinary developments that led to the demise of the Pac-12, we are producing three installments — the first was published Thursday, the second Saturday — in the hopes of addressing all the topics that matter to our readers.
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Please note: Some questions have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Today, schools in the Big Ten and SEC are safe. Do you see a scenario where schools like Arkansas, Mississippi State and Iowa are kicked out for teams that Fox or ESPN value more highly, such as Florida State or Miami? — @BakerMeow
As college football roils, there are two givens: Another wave of realignment will hit the sport in the late 2020s or early 2030s; and other schools will experience fates similar to that which walloped Washington State and Oregon State.
If nothing else, the developments in the Pac-12 will accelerate challenges to the NCAA’s economic structure, leading to athletes being classified as employees and entitled to a share of the massive revenue.
Any argument that football players are mere student-athletes after the Los Angeles and Pacific Northwest schools chased the cash and joined the Big Ten seems farcical, at least from a legal standpoint.
Attorneys for plaintiffs challenging the NCAA’s amateurism model are “salivating,” according to an industry source. “How can the schools possibly argue against the (National Labor Relations Board) — that the players aren’t employees — after all this?”
Any form of revenue sharing with players will increase financial pressures on athletic departments, driving a push for more money at the upper echelon of the sport — and potentially a bifurcation within the power conferences.
In one corner: Schools with the means and motivation to participate in a mini-NFL.
In the other: Schools…
Read the full article here