Bowl Game Opt-Outs Could Soon Be A Thing Of The Past In College Football
One of the unforeseen consequences of the transfer portal era of college football has been the dramatic increase in players opting out of end-of-season bowl games.
It's a justifiable decision from the player side; why should a player risk injury on the way to the NFL when he's not being compensated for the game? Especially when, in most cases, the games are mostly meaningless exhibitions? Or why risk injury when you intend on transferring to a different program after the year anyway?
The opt-outs, justifiable though they may be, have ensured that bowl game matchups are often significantly less interesting and exciting than in years past.
But that may soon be ending, according to a quote from Bowl Season director Nick Carparelli.
Carparelli told Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports that he "expects NIL to soon come ‘in-house’ and for athletes to sign binding compensation contracts with schools that will require them to play in bowls and CFP games, eliminating or greatly reducing opt-outs.
That would essentially make the athletes employees, required to fulfill obligations as part of an employment agreement, like in many other positions.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Caleb Williams #13 of the USC Trojans looks on against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on October 14, 2023. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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Obviously, this would be a momentous shift in how college athletes are compensated and viewed. Instead of outside collectives, schools would effectively be paying salaries and creating and signing employment contracts.
It's not hard to see how this could ultimately benefit schools; instead of constantly having to recruit the players already on the roster, they'd be subject to contracts, like professional athletes. And for players, they'd have the guarantee of payment from the schools.
The era of insane transfer portal numbers would also likely come to an end. This year saw a new record set for portal entries across the sport.
Ever since NIL started, it's always seemed to be heading in this direction. Now it seems like sooner rather than later, we're going to see college football players become employees of their schools. What a time to be alive.