The recruitment process to high school football has always been the same. A prospect gains traction on social media and recruitment apps, emails coaches he is interested in playing for, those coaches come watch him play, they offer him a scholarship and he signs to that college on a full-ride scholarship. With the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), which is a person’s legal right to control how their image is used, including commercially, in 2019 into California, the sport would be changed for the next coming years.

NIL allows college and professional players to be paid heavily while playing their sport. With brand deals or contracts with companies or individuals, college athletes can earn upwards of five million dollars just in their first year.

To a winning college football program, on average, each position earns six figures. A quarterback can be expected to earn $820,000, a wide-receiver $610,000, an offensive line $550,000, and defensive line $470,000. And that’s just an average. Star quarterbacks from the Texas Longhorns, Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, earn a respective $1.7 million and $3.1 million. Georgia quarterback, Carson Beck, earns a whopping $1.4 million, while driving a Lamborghini.

While the prospect of being paid money for playing your sport is tempting, the act of NIL is ruining college sports. Athletes with struggling families back home, or poor economic status, might use this newfound money to improve their families lives and their own, paying off debt or their house and car payments. However, once money continues to flow, athletes continually lose their grit and want to win. They are no longer “good ole’ boys”, they are only in it for the cash. The glory of winning, the feeling of scoring the last touchdown or kicking the winning field-goal have all been pushed to the side. This new generation of athletes are no longer playing for that sensation. The game has changed, and it is not the same.

I think that NIL is affecting quarterbacks the worst throughout the SEC. As a long time Georgia Bulldogs fan, Carson Beck’s recent gameplay has not been the greatest. But that doesn’t really matter to him. After the game, he gets to drive off in his $270,000 Lamborghini with his blonde girlfriend, still making more money than people make in a decade, or their whole life. It doesn’t matter to him how he performs. He will still be on the field come next Saturday, still throwing for 5 INTs.

What about Arch Manning? Manning doesn’t even have the starting job, yet he still makes over $2 million more than Quinn Ewers, the actual starting QB. His last name, a dynasty in the world of football, garners him more attention and money than probably deserved. So why does he have to try? Why does he need to train? He is already miles above his competition and teammates when it comes to fame and money.

It boils down to this: College football should not be one of the most high paid jobs around. If high school athletes work hard enough to make it to the next level, their “reward” should be going to college for free. For attending a large state school without paying a single dime. The introduction of NIL has single-handedly wiped out the ambition for winning.