Do college football players now have more leverage in the pay-for-play fight?
Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel are joined by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde to discuss a suggestion by one quarterbacks coach that players should push for compensation in return for their play. Subscribe to the Yahoo Sports College Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Video Transcript
[CROWD CHEERING]
DAN WETZEL: Quincy Avery is a former college quarterback. But he's basically the coach, the head of QB Takeover. He is a highly regarded quarterback coach for young prospects-- high school, college players. His proteges include Deshaun Watson, Dwayne Haskins, bunch of others.
Sends out a tweet. "I know a lot of college players follow me. If there was ever a time to get paid to play, now would be the time." I don't know if he's recommending they call him for some advice or not. But is this the time where, if you're a quarterback at one of these schools, you could sit there and say, either collectively, you could all get together to demand pay. Although I don't know how that would work. Or you could go, listen, coach, you're going to have to sweeten the pot. I'm going to need a little something on the side.
I don't know. What was Quincy Avery talking about, Pete? Because we know college athletes do not get paid ever.
PETE THAMEL: Yes. And they're in the process of starting to get some sort of pay. But I just do think, again, this is like the ultimate fantasyland pod topic right now. You have heard over the years that-- it was the UNLV, one of the UNLV final fours in the early '90s, where players were thinking about holding a strike for holding out. Now, it would be inopportune to do it now, because of the COVID situation.
But the players have never had more power. The power of king football has never been more apparent than right now. And if the players, who are likely going to be shipped on to moderately empty campuses, perhaps quarantine, and then played in front of no fans-- if the players basically looked at this risk and said, wait a minute, this is like we're almost professionals, which they are. And we all know they are. They are the very important cogs in a billion dollar business. I think there has never been a time where they have more leverage, when their value has been more apparent, where they could leverage and ask for more.
PAT FORDE: The word in opportune was a remarkable understatement in my opinion. It would be the most crass, poorly received, using a pandemic as leverage move. And it would not go well. I am not unsympathetic to their plight. But just as people have pointed out that if baseball can't get a season going because the two sides are apart on money during a pandemic, when America really, really would like some sports, the same would go here I think rather emphatically. That this would not go over well. If we get a football season, like, ah, we're not going to play, because we need some money.
As you pointed out, look-- the name, image, and likeness stuff is coming. Hey. I'm real sorry if you are a 2020, if you are Trevor Lawrence and you can't cash in yet. But if you pull a sit down strike in the midst of this, there's not going to be a lot of sympathy out there for you.
DAN WETZEL: What if it's the under the table thing?
- Well, if it's under the table, then OK. If you put your hand out and you get it and you get away with it, then you get away with it. But then again, we run into-- that's where we run into the NCAA rules that are agreed upon by 130 different football playing institutions.
DAN WETZEL: Players would never get organized this quickly. So there's no way this is happening. But it would be-- I agree. It is a little bit crass. But I mean, this is America. That's what we do.
[LAUGHTER]
PETE THAMEL: Is it crass to ask them to play--
PAT FORDE: Can we read the room a little bit? People are dying. People are in the hospital. People are unemployed. And universities are slashing budgets everywhere. I need money! I need money!
DAN WETZEL: I agree with all of that, but this is still America, and that's what they do. And in the end, everyone forgives them, because they throw a touchdown pass.
PETE THAMEL: Is it crass to ask them to play on a potentially empty campus in front of no fans and taking a risk every time they're out there? You know, like large gatherings, et cetera. That's sort of the counter.
I get the crass. And I get the inopportune. And this is not going to happen. But I do think there there is certainly-- there is an aspect of what's going to be asked of them that is somewhat crass, at this the "student athletes."
PAT FORDE: Well, I agree. And that's why, look. If there aren't students on campus, I don't think-- I don't think, in good conscience, you can ask, say, say, well, you know, forget it. You guys don't count. You go entertain us. No, I don't think you can do that.
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