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By Guest | Published 08/11/2022 | USF Bulls Athletics THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT DREAMFIELD OR THE FOWLER AVE COLLECTIVE OR EVEN USF Ok, with that out of the way I’d like to talk about the man behind the curtain. He’s pulled a bit of a trick on us, and we were too busy looking at one hand while he was pulling off the trick with the other. Feels like just yesterday the battle cry that was the injustice of the sport sounded like, “this is a billion dollar industry and the kids don’t make any money. It’s their bodies on the line. They should get a slice!!!” The demand was a slice of the pie. But what did the man behind the curtain give us? NIL. Let the kids make money off their name, image, and likeness. It’s only fair right? (It is) But wait a second… What happened to the pie we all thought the kids deserved a slice of? Hmm sounds like the rich old boys at the TV networks, conference offices, 9 million dollar coaches, and some of the high dollar athletics departments got to keep their pie. Untouched. In fact their pie is growing. The B1Gs new TV deal is reportedly going to be in the neighborhood of 1.5 billion… per year. That’s around 90+ million per school per year. And yet even schools like Ohio State have collectives that have their hand out to the average fan to “chip in” to “compensate these Athletes for their brand.” Even running a nice little scam where they get tax protected status to pay athletes to market for charities. They could just donate it all to charities but heck that ain’t gonna bring in talent. How is the pie getting bigger and yet they still need a little bit more from us. The fans. The fans who buy the tickets, pay for the parking, buy the merch, pay for the TV packages, buy the [insert brand who will sponsor this blog] beer that advertises on the TV during games. Yes it’s us who need to come up with just a bit more to pay the players… to play for our university… because if we don’t “we’re not keeping up” and they’ll just go to where the fans/donors will pay more? That’s the sport we fell in love with? Feels like the relationship has changed, and not for the better. The dirty side of NIL has not been reigned in. And I know what you’re going to say - this has always been happening it’s just legal now. (See Cam Newton). Well you know what, I kinda liked it better under the table and “illegal.” At least I could pretend it was fair. It sure felt more fair. Even worse the 4 team playoff decided by a committee of people who work for the TV company who godfathers the entire sport made competing for a title a borderline popularity contest. It’s so top heavy only about 4-5 schools realistically compete for the title. Then they have the stones to tell you the fans “well you all can pay the kids, but a 12 team playoff is just too much to ask.” So that’s where we’re at. The fans get conference realignment with UCLA playing Rutgers in order to formulate a TV deal so massive that it cannot seem to compensate the players. Maybe that’s where it’s going. But for now, the sport needs more of your money. Somehow the people we wanted pie from have more pie than ever. And everyone’s got their eye on NIL while the sport slowly reforms into 2 mega conference controlled by guess who - TV companies who cannot bear the burden of paying these kids. All that being said the genie isn’t going back in the bottle. And I don’t think athletes getting a little money to be on a billboard or money for their autograph is a bad thing. And I knew it would only set USF back further in the hunt. But right is right. Somehow that’s turned into “if you ain’t payin you ain’t playin.” And I just wonder what the plan is for Rutgers and that 93 million dollars a year, and why their individual fans need to “help those athletes maximize their brand.” Notes: 1) I know Rutgers can’t pay them - but that goes back to the man behind the curtain 2) Is this bastardization of the sport worth getting the NCAA Football video game back… Feel free to check out other great stories on fall camp, the War on I4, the new stadium, and plenty of other topics over at Pubchair.substack.com And find funny content @pubchairSFL on twitter View full story

By Guest | Published 08/07/2022 | USF Bulls Athletics A new NIL collective stumbled out of the gate. Apparently it was revealed early. I wrote a stack about my personal opinions about NIL as a whole and what this new entrant to the USF athletics space COULD mean. I’ve re-read the first stack twice since then, and I can say I still believe in every word I of it. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do so for the context. Since then two things have happened. I’ve heard a ton of opinions from the #USFTwitterHerd and had some direct communication with Dreamfield. The company behind The Fowler Collective. I have a better grasp of what they’re doing in this space now. For starters I don’t like using the word “collective” in the name. I think it conveys are different purpose than what Dreamfield is doing. To me - and I think most of CFB - a “collective” is a group of donors big and small working in the proverbial shadows offering money for recruits and transfers. We know this happens. That isn’t Dreamfield/TFC. Their game is twofold. Link up players with sponsorship opportunities - think car dealerships etc… and doing so in an above board legal way. Helping players navigate this space and these deals according to them this where more of the $ is made on their end. Flat out I’m 100 percent fine with all that. If Publix wants to sponsor the O-line to market pub subs - win win. If TFC is the connection that helps that flourish rock on. The second part is what raises my eyebrow. Essentially a subscription service for fans to exchange money for fan club style perks (meet ups etc…). This is where the Herd and I split I think. My take, which was laid out in my first stack, is that I have limited dollars. I give what I can to Bulls club when I can. And I don’t have a ton of interest in chatting with the O-line or giving them my money to hang out on Zoom. I am sure they’re great people and I wish them all the best. But I have kids to feed and this blog isn’t monetized. HOWEVER just because I don’t have interest in that - doesn’t mean the interest isn’t there. Very clearly some of you are chomping at the bit at a way to give these players money and invest in them. Connect with the team more. Etc… Here again Dreamfield has arrived to fill that role and facilitate. They posted that 85% of these dollars go directly to the athletes - it’s a private company we don’t know but to be honest I believe it. They’ve brought in fan favorite Matt Grothe to sell it and people are buying. Who am I to judge right? This space is crowded with new players rushing to get a slice. Analytics. Scams. Sweatshirts, bad logos to name a few. MOGL, NIL Network, Elite Empire Athletics, and even a company called AthLiance which has a name that immediately brings to mind Jim Helpert’s brain child ATHLEAD. A lot of us don’t know up from down in the NIL landscape below the surface. So forgive me for having reservations about Dreamfield/TFC. And to their defense and mine they probably had a better roll out planned than a twitter leak. From what I know - Dreamfield is here for the right reasons. So to that I say… as long as we all know what we’re doing in this space the more power to everyone. I’m sure Dreamfield has plans to lay out their model a lot better than I just probably barely scratched the surface of. The players have value/a product, this company provides a service, and the fans want it. I say let it ride. And who knows… if in some time The Fowler Collective is part of the lure to come to USF - and I don’t have to pay for daycare anymore - maybe I’ll sign up for a membership. And lastly, and most importantly Bulls fans… This blog and every twitter account out there isn’t always going to see eye to eye (Hell some of you like the chrome helmet ) but can we all remember that everyone who reads this and all of our little twitter-scape family are top 5 percent fans who really care. We need to #BullsUnite a little bit more. Alright Amazon… pay up ! Feel free to subscribe to the stack https://pubchair.substack.com/p/nil-and-collectivismizing-part-2?r=1nrdrp&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct View full story

By Guest | Published 08/07/2022 | USF Bulls Athletics The game is a changin folks. The era of paying 18 year olds millions of dollars to come to a certain school to play football is here. Many of us saw it coming. Lane Kiffin sees it now, and has called it legalized cheating. Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher have had public pissing matches over who pays more. Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day said he needs “13 million dollars to keep this roster together.” Jim Harbaugh’s reply was that maybe he could double that. Long are the days of Jim Leavitt leading out a bunch of chip-on-their-shoulder Florida boys to give anyone a run for their money. Today we must get that bag. I am not the grandpa on the porch here. If you’re out there rippin spirals and scoring tuddys and people want to buy your jersey or autograph - get some! That’s what NIL was sold as. What it has morphed into is very simply an auction for players. You begged for it… you got it. And to make it better they want to open it up to unlimited transfers. The story of Jordan Addision from Pitt should be as obvious an example as one could need from a USF fan’s point of view. National star wide out at Pitt, won an ACC title. All of a sudden he wants to transfer to USC? To play for a coach that was just at OU? Weird. In the age of NIL what would you expect Quinton Flowers to do after 2016? I wouldn’t blame him at all for taking his world class talent to a better paying customer. But this is the college athletics atmosphere you begged for if you were moaning about unrestricted NIL. Let’s all be serious - these guys get free education, gear, housing, trips around the country, and walk around campus like kings. Should they get a little money too? Sure why not. The money is there. (If you think the gazillions created by the sport shouldn’t go to the TV execs, good me neither force it to go back to the schools’ general scholarship fund.) Should they be able to sell their jersey? Sure with some regulation that wouldn’t be hard to make work. Should external bodies exist to essentially bribe players to come to schools, and recruitment for talent turn into a bid bidding war? Yea probably not. But they do. (Remember most of you begged for this) So that brings us to USF football’s new “collective”. What is a “collective” and do we need one? Short answer is yes. The game is the game and we have to play. If Gerry got a little squeeze to come to USF then I’m ready for the juice. (I have no clue if he did or not). Enter Dreamfield and The Fowler Collective. Is Dreamfield/TFC here to entice players to come to USF? I don’t know. It’s a for profit company co-founded by a UCF player. (Side note I have nothing but respect for that players game - dude had “it” like not many others). It appears to be a representation firm for athletes to make money off their “brand.” And they want your money… monthly. I already give money monthly to college students, but it’s called my kids 529 plan. I don’t know about you but I don’t have a lot of dollars to toss around. I already sneak some out of the account to donate to the Bulls club behind my wife’s back . I have to donate to be able to pay for parking? Ok just take the money and let me park. That money goes to student athletes, facilities, staff and the program… awesome. Horns Up. Am I actually interested in giving money to college students so they can do Chipotle ads and some company like dreamfield can take a slice off the top? I’m not. Maybe you are. Chipotle has its own inflation cost issues and full honesty T-Flats is the spot. (Sponsorship welcome - I want that bag too). And there are pile of these NIL companies (not collectives) lining up to get a slice of this industry - and I tell you what they all suck at making good looking merch. A “collective” in the terms you’ve heard it on TV regarding programs like Texas A&M and Florida are easily recognized. The Gator Collective is a great example. This is real NIL in action. A powerful group of donors acting in collective to empower athletes aka compensating players in a professional manner to play formerly amateur sports. Sure it’s layered in “brand creation” and a bunch of other NIL lip service. But it gets the job done. Its executive board consists of 3 UF alumni who appear to have deep pockets themselves. This is what a collective is. Its only website is orange and blue. It very clearly is in the game of making UF win. So… it’s your money. You can do whatever it is you want with it. But let’s not just click donate on the next new shiny thing painted green and gold. We all want to support USF, but if we’re just giving kids money who are going to college there’s probably a struggling cancer researching grad student who could use some Chipotle money too. Or there’s always my kids’ 529. But USF fans should at least be aware of what’s out there. We probably need a “collective” but Im just not so sure UCF founded, fancy websited, dreamfield is the answer. And if I’m wrong… dreamfield will be there in a few months to “donate” to if that’s what giving money to a private company money is called these days. Maybe by then we’ll see what the outputs are. I’d sure like to know what percent goes to overhead. I’m just looking out for you Bulls nation. Again, it is your money, I just don’t want to see people swept up in the word “collective” before we know what this is. (Full honesty - I’ve had that gif on my phone for awhile and this is my best chance to use it - and if you don’t watch The Boys well then you’ve got bigger problems than NIL. Amazon yo wassup I’m tryna get that bag. This one’s free but the next plug is $5) For more Bulls content feel free to check out the Substack. Go Bulls https://pubchair.substack.com/p/nil-and-the-age-of-collectiveismizing?r=1nrdrp&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct View full story