Jaden Rashada on the move in the Portal

[ankleassassin]

Football players usually are graduates because you can't leave school until your 3rd year and they take classes year round.

Basketball players can leave early, and that's been that way before nil so all the sudden wanting them to earn a degree is new.
Most are there to get to their profession which is their sport. They aren't there to be scientists.

The scholarship and NIL are not fluid so why pay it back? Of the coach kicks them off the team they don't get to stay enrolled. So why if they want to leave are they owed to the the school?

 

[Streak One]

The part of NIL that needs to be monitored is the A) players getting money and then bolting or trying to re-negotiate during year and B) schools not holding up their end to pay the player what they promised.

The money was always in the system (boosters) and it used to either be under the table if it went to players or it went to training facilities, locker rooms, etc.

But if someone wants to pay them, so be it.

IMO it won't be the portal/NIL that hurts college sports the most. It will be the conference realignment of the past five years.

 

[mrbig864]

You are actually making the point for NIL. You said Rashada “will not earn a penny” for all the traffic and attention he has brought to NorCal Preps, which means his name, image, and likeness created traffic for a platform that will not pay him. The fact that we are still talking about this guy is driving traffic to this website.

His signing to Sac State brought more than 70,000 views to Sac State’s social media platforms. That is visibility. That is engagement. That is value. And NIL simply asks: if a player is generating value, why should he be the only one not allowed to benefit from it?

I hope he does well too!

BigMann, we are gonna have to agree to disagree. There are a number of players at Sac State, and even more at larger schools, that are being paid simply to play. Nothing to do at all with their NIL.

Lastly - I do believe the kids should be getting something, but the original intent of NIL was geared towards measurables like Jersey sells, and a players name, image and likeness being used on revenue generating businesses (see Ed Obannon and EASports). NIL was never intended to be the simple pay for play that it’s become, but there were many coaches who warned we were heading down this path.

My only point is that there needs to be more regulations and guidelines put into place to protect both the schools and the players, because this is quickly getting out of hand IMHO. A two-year contract, and/or a maximum number of transfers would seem to be a good place to begin.

 

[BigMann08]

BigMann, we are gonna have to agree to disagree. There are a number of players at Sac State, and even more at larger schools, that are being paid simply to play. Nothing to do at all with their NIL.

Lastly - I do believe the kids should be getting something, but the original intent of NIL was geared towards measurables like Jersey sells, and a players name, image and likeness being used on revenue generating businesses (see Ed Obannon and EASports). NIL was never intended to be the simple pay for play that it’s become, but there were many coaches who warned we were heading down this path.

My only point is that there needs to be more regulations and guidelines put into place to protect both the schools and the players, because this is quickly getting out of hand IMHO. A two-year contract, and/or a maximum number of transfers would seem to be a good place to begin.

Im good with agree to disageee...I personally don't have a big issue with the pay to play. People have been getting paid under the table or in a round about way since we can remember. That plush job where you just show up occasionally, paid internship, was a cover up. Some people just got $$$... Most of the programs were doing it! Now it's not illegal! Which I applaud!

I'm not trying to change your mind. I'm speaking from my perspective and lived experience. I personally know a few kids and have connections to others who are receiving NIL money. Some are receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars and others in the tens of thousands to play. I'm good with that! I think it’s a sweet deal.

I also thinks that its amazing that athletes can now sell music, produce tracks, sign record deals, model, do commercials, promote products, sell merchandise, run camps, design T-shirts, launch podcasts, take paid speaking engagements, DJ events, host parties/events, etc.

Back in the day, we couldn’t do any of that without risking trouble with the NCAA. A single opportunity could cost you your scholarship or eligibility. Now, these young athletes can turn their talent into equity, their platforms into income, and their creativity into legitimate business ventures. My friends and I would have made hundreds of thousands of dollars throwing parties and camps!

It’s not just about money...it’s about ownership, access, and the ability to build something lasting beyond the game.

I think my perspective speaks to my experiences and those whom I personally glean from along the way. I'll land my plane here....

 

[ankleassassin]

View: https://x.com/On3sports/status/1920205052553154601

did he earn it?

 

[Truthhertz]

Where did you play division 1 football or basketball?
If you didn't, I understand how it would be complex. You say you don't mind them getting paid, but what job do you think a full time student athlete can work? Their mission is to become a pro athlete. Not an accountant. They can't pick up shifts at Starbucks.

A “professional” simply means you’re being compensated for a skill. Again not complex or unique about that. Their mission can be whatever, if they can’t manage school athletics and work maybe reality check is in order.

 

[ankleassassin]

A “professional” simply means you’re being compensated for a skill. Again not complex or unique about that. Their mission can be whatever, if they can’t manage school athletics and work maybe reality check is in order.

If you played D1 sports you know how much time it takes. If you didn't I understand the misconception.
And honestly NIL has been there since I was there.. it's just legal and even more lucrative now.

 

[Truthhertz]

You make claims of ridiculousness while completely missing the big picture. Or was that just deflection? You’re fixated on Rashada being paid by NorCal Preps. If that’s truly what you took from what I wrote, then I should probably bow out of the conversation.

The point was never that NorCal Preps owes him anything. The point is this: if his name alone brings engagement and conversation to platforms that don’t even compensate him, imagine what he or others brings to those that do. That is the core of NIL! Value and leverage.

And your analogy to criminals? That’s not just a reach; it’s reckless. Criminals bring attention through harm and breaking the law. Athletes bring it through skill, discipline, and brand power. Conflating the two says more about your mindset than it does about NIL.

You say you’re not against players getting paid, yet you attack the very logic behind why they should. That’s not confusion. That’s contradiction. And deep down, it sounds like discomfort with the fact that the power dynamic has shifted and athletes now have options, leverage, and legal compensation for the same value they’ve always brought.

This isn’t about theory anymore. NIL is structured. It’s legal. And it’s here. The game evolved. The question is: can your thinking do the same?

And you want players who take NIL money to pay for their tuition? That logic is completely backwards. NIL deals are not scholarships. They are business agreements based on marketability and personal brand value. Asking a player to pay for their tuition after earning NIL money is like asking an actor to pay to be in the movie just because they got endorsement deals. Tuition is covered by the scholarship. NIL is compensation for the value an athlete brings outside of competition through visibility, social media, merchandise, and more.

Wanting athletes to “repay” their scholarship because they earned NIL money is not only illogical, it exposes a deep misunderstanding of how the system actually works.

Again I was pretty clear on my feelings about kids getting paid. I also have been very clear about kids being able transfer especially in high school. The funny thing about getting paid is market dictates value. The kid we are talking about isn’t for anything he has done on the field, we are talking about and equating him to the negatives of the NIL. But if somebody or some program wants to throw money at kids like that so be it, I don’t care. Would I do it? No. If he sells shoes, or jerseys, or tap water and there is a market for him? Great! I personally don’t see how he has done nothing but transfer. Last thing on pay I think people dictate their worth and either prove it to employers or they get fired. I don’t believe in minimum wages for example, the individual markets themselves. If Rashad is selling himself with zero accomplishments, congratulations.

 

[Truthhertz]

If you played D1 sports you know how much time it takes. If you didn't I understand the misconception.
And honestly NIL has been there since I was there.. it's just legal and even more lucrative now.

I had an injury that cut athletic career short. That said started my first company at 22 and can tell you 40 years later nothing is harder than betting on yourself and making it happen. Not school, not athletics, not marriage, raising kids, nothing.

 

[ankleassassin]

I had an injury that cut athletic career short. That said started my first company at 22 and can tell you 40 years later nothing is harder than betting on yourself and making it happen. Not school, not athletics, not marriage, raising kids, nothing.

As they are all doing. Happy your story worked out.

 

[BigMann08]

Again I was pretty clear on my feelings about kids getting paid. I also have been very clear about kids being able transfer especially in high school. The funny thing about getting paid is market dictates value. The kid we are talking about isn’t for anything he has done on the field, we are talking about and equating him to the negatives of the NIL. But if somebody or some program wants to throw money at kids like that so be it, I don’t care. Would I do it? No. If he sells shoes, or jerseys, or tap water and there is a market for him? Great! I personally don’t see how he has done nothing but transfer. Last thing on pay I think people dictate their worth and either prove it to employers or they get fired. I don’t believe in minimum wages for example, the individual markets themselves. If Rashad is selling himself with zero accomplishments, congratulations.

Rashada was a highly recruited four-star high school quarterback with over 30 Division I offers. He won the starting job as a true freshman at Arizona State...making him one of the few in the country to do so ...before being sidelined by a thumb injury.

Let’s be real: that’s not “nothing.” That’s elite company.

Earning a starting role as a true freshman at a then–Power Five program isn’t luck or hype...it’s the result of years of development, high-level performance, and undeniable talent. He didn’t just show up; he beat out older, more experienced quarterbacks, mastered a complex playbook, and earned the trust of a coaching staff whose reputations were on the line.

You say you were an athlete...well, true athletes respect that kind of résumé.

He also had to stay academically eligible, handle national media attention, adjust to college life, and step into a leadership role...all at 18. That’s not just potential...that’s production, preparation, and poise under pressure.

So if starting as a true freshman quarterback in the Pac-12, with 30+ D1 offers to his name, is considered “nothing,” then I’d love to know what counts as “something.” Because most people will never come close to that level in their lifetime. Did you?

It’s interesting...you minimize Rashada’s accomplishments while spotlighting your own: getting injured in high school, starting a business at 22. Respect and kudos to you! But when you downplay someone else’s grind just to elevate your own?

Where I’m from, we call that hating.