Dick Vitale Advocates For Contracts In College Sports | Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich
Dickie Vitale recently appeared on OutKick's "Don't @ Me" with his former ESPN colleague Dan Dakich. During the discussion, they explored the impact of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals on the March Madness tournament thus far.
LAS VEGAS - ESPN announcers Dick Vitale and Dave OBrien look on before the Empire Classic tournament college basketball game between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the UCLA Bruins on November 23, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Vitale argued that the NCAA's relatively new system, which includes millions paid through NIL and the free agency-like benefits of the transfer portal, is disrupting parity in college sports. He believes this combination is creating an uneven playing field.
Describing the effect of NIL and the transfer portal as "total chaos," Dickie V. proposed a solution. He suggested that paying athletes through contracts could help keep them committed to one program, preventing them from jumping to the highest bidder and reducing talent poaching.
Dick Vitale. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
"Total chaos. The stability is out of whack. It's the Wild West. You know, we should never, ever open the portal in the heart of the NCAA tournament. That is a joke. …
"I'll never understand how we went from 0 to 1000. Where you can just be a free agent every single year. There is no sport. Whether it's basketball, baseball, football, hockey. You can't be.
"I think this, you know, bottom line is there's no doubt players deserve some money. But I thought it was going to basically, you do a commercial, you make an appearance, you get paid for it. I never in my wildest dreams, I don't know if you did, but millions of dollars? Millions!"
DICK VITALE FULL INTERVIEW
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