Getty Image
Urban Meyer might not be leading a college football team any longer, but the former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach is still around the sport on a regular basis, as the three-time national championship coach is an analyst for FOX Sports on game days, lending his opinion on all sorts of stuff. And, while Meyer isn’t roaming the sidelines anymore, he’s still heavily invested in what’s going on in college sports, and had some thoughts about the new Fair Pay for Play Act that was just signed in California — which, beginning in 2023, allows college athletes to make money off their likeness.
Appearing as a guest on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Urban Meyer expressed serious concern about the potential of the new rule and how it might impact college sports as a whole. Forget recruiting and all that, Meyer thinks, at its core, the “purity” of college athletics will be lost now that student-athletes have an opportunity to earn money, while the former coach also mentioned worries about motivating star athletes to go to class when they’re making serious cash.
Per Larry Brown Sports:
“College athletics will never be the same,” Meyer said. “And how that impacts a person going to class, and being a team first, and the whole reason why we got into, why I did get into the purity of college athletics is because you get to mold 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds into a team-first mentality. That will be gone and I’m concerned about it.”
Meyer admitted there are “very legitimate” arguments for both sides, but he said legislating that is going to be an issue when such a small fraction of players are going to get endorsement opportunities. He was also asked if allowing players to make money could negatively impact team chemistry, and he believes it will.
“I can’t imagine (it wouldn’t). If you’re coaching a guy that’s making $600K like Ezekiel Elliott, how do you convince him that he has to go to class on Tuesday, because you’re 17, 18, 19 years old?” Meyer said. “So I just think the dynamics of this thing is going to be very interesting to watch. It will change college sports forever.”
The Fair Pay for Play Act is a sticky situation that has lots of kinks that need to be worked out over the next four years before it goes into effect, with the NCAA (probably) set to go to battle with the state of California about the specifics of the law. And, while the rule does give college athletes their given right to earn cash off their names, likeness and talent, Urban Meyer’s correct in voicing such concerns, because college sports would now become a minor league system that most teenagers might not be prepared for.
Who knows how everything will shake out, but with heavy support from both sides for and against student athletes being paid, things need to get ironed out and transparent to avoid as many issues as possible before the Fair Pay for Play Act is in action.