Hey everyone, former FSU QB McKenzie Milton was on Dan Le Batard's podcast today and he shared some of his thoughts on NIL and the current landscape in college football. Some of his comments are below, and check back later for a column from Corey on this.
Here's the link to the full Le Batard and Friends South Beach Sessions podcast (this is from Spotify, but you can find the pod in several places).
Q from 8:45 min. mark regarding ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit's comments on bowl games.
A: “I don’t know if he’s saying that because of who is playing his bills, you know what I mean? But to me its easy to say that when you’re getting paid millions of dollars behind a desk. A lot of these kids come from nothing. A lot of these kids’ cost of attendance checks are going back home to their families. A scholarship is great, its an honor. But you’re working for that scholarship, believe me. When these kids have a chance to set up their families with generational money – I’m not saying money is the fixture to everything – but if it can help your family out, it can help your struggling mom and dad and siblings out. And you’re going to be in the college system where in all honesty, most college systems in my opinion, they kind of exhaust the student’s bodies for four or five years, they drain everything they possibly can out of them, whatever is left, its survival mode once you get to the league. And trying to stay healthy.
"I believe the average shelf life is two to three years? You get a chance to be a third round, first round guy, and you gotta wait another month, two months in that college system where you can be feeling yourself because you have the funds to do it through an agent. You can be preparing yourself for these interviews, you can be getting ready physically healing from the season. Or you can be going through basically another spring ball in college, being away from your family during the holidays. To me, if you want these kids to play in these bowl games, make it right after conference championship week. Then you can go home for the holidays, then they can get ready for the draft. To me the system is a cash cow system to be dragged out for a long time to get TV ratings and money into the pockets of the TV companies.
"I couldn’t get down with what Kirk was saying, I love Kirk, I think he is really good at what he does, but to me that wasn’t a good take. To me, Matt Corrall, I probably would have done the same thing. I probably would have played. But I can’t fault any of these kids for opting out of a bowl game that’s a month and a half away when they have the chance to set up their families for life. To me, it’s a no brainer. Fans that say they’re quitters and stuff like that, who are you quitting on? You’re helping your family and family comes first.”
Q from 11:36 min mark. Walk us through money situation for college athletes?
A: “You get paid in books, you get cost of attendance checks. And you get rent checks. A lot of these cost of attendance checks, they’re way less than what a paycheck would be. From my experience at UCF, it was a lot less than it was at FSU in term of cost of attendance. But even at FSU, its hardly enough to survive from week to week month to month. I had the good fortune of having parents to help me out. A lot of these guys, the check goes back to their families back home. They’re struggling from meal to meal. A lot of these guys are eating protein shakes, PBJs at the snack bar.
"And I’m not saying we are starving or anything like that. But, when you the opportunity to make millions of dollars, get your family out of whatever situation they are in, it’s a no brainer. Why would you stick around for the next two months eating PBJs instead of getting shredded for the NFL draft? So when you’re in front of these scouts, you’re ready to go. Instead of another two months in that system where you’re really breaking down your body."
Q from around 13 min. mark. Why are you passionate about this?
A: "I think the thing is, you just said it. It’s a business decision. Coaches make business decisions, TV analysts. But all of the sudden when a 21 or 22 year old kid makes a business decision, its not right. I can’t understand that. These kids are getting smarter. They’re starting to get smarter and see the system. I’ll even talk about the NIL stuff with what kind of went down in the state legislature this year where they tried to delay the year, to where it would have been 2022. To where the can would keep getting kicked down the road where these guys can’t profit off their own last name. Not the names on the front of the jerseys. It literally makes zero sense that they tried slipping in a one-liner to delay this NIL bill.
"And if Florida would have delayed it, the whole country would have delayed it. The NCAA wouldn’t have folded. For me, now its providing opportunities for female athletes, male athletes, to run camps in their own names. To get extra money in their pockets. To help their families out. Its kind of been a corrupt system for a while. I think we are starting to get where the kids are starting to figure out- this isn’t right. I can opt out when really the ball is in my court. These coaches can go leave for 100 million dollar contracts at the snap of a finger. But if a guy decides to opt out for one game, a bowl when you’re 8-4, c’mon man it makes no sense.”
Here's the link to the full Le Batard and Friends South Beach Sessions podcast (this is from Spotify, but you can find the pod in several places).
Q from 8:45 min. mark regarding ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit's comments on bowl games.
A: “I don’t know if he’s saying that because of who is playing his bills, you know what I mean? But to me its easy to say that when you’re getting paid millions of dollars behind a desk. A lot of these kids come from nothing. A lot of these kids’ cost of attendance checks are going back home to their families. A scholarship is great, its an honor. But you’re working for that scholarship, believe me. When these kids have a chance to set up their families with generational money – I’m not saying money is the fixture to everything – but if it can help your family out, it can help your struggling mom and dad and siblings out. And you’re going to be in the college system where in all honesty, most college systems in my opinion, they kind of exhaust the student’s bodies for four or five years, they drain everything they possibly can out of them, whatever is left, its survival mode once you get to the league. And trying to stay healthy.
"I believe the average shelf life is two to three years? You get a chance to be a third round, first round guy, and you gotta wait another month, two months in that college system where you can be feeling yourself because you have the funds to do it through an agent. You can be preparing yourself for these interviews, you can be getting ready physically healing from the season. Or you can be going through basically another spring ball in college, being away from your family during the holidays. To me, if you want these kids to play in these bowl games, make it right after conference championship week. Then you can go home for the holidays, then they can get ready for the draft. To me the system is a cash cow system to be dragged out for a long time to get TV ratings and money into the pockets of the TV companies.
"I couldn’t get down with what Kirk was saying, I love Kirk, I think he is really good at what he does, but to me that wasn’t a good take. To me, Matt Corrall, I probably would have done the same thing. I probably would have played. But I can’t fault any of these kids for opting out of a bowl game that’s a month and a half away when they have the chance to set up their families for life. To me, it’s a no brainer. Fans that say they’re quitters and stuff like that, who are you quitting on? You’re helping your family and family comes first.”
Q from 11:36 min mark. Walk us through money situation for college athletes?
A: “You get paid in books, you get cost of attendance checks. And you get rent checks. A lot of these cost of attendance checks, they’re way less than what a paycheck would be. From my experience at UCF, it was a lot less than it was at FSU in term of cost of attendance. But even at FSU, its hardly enough to survive from week to week month to month. I had the good fortune of having parents to help me out. A lot of these guys, the check goes back to their families back home. They’re struggling from meal to meal. A lot of these guys are eating protein shakes, PBJs at the snack bar.
"And I’m not saying we are starving or anything like that. But, when you the opportunity to make millions of dollars, get your family out of whatever situation they are in, it’s a no brainer. Why would you stick around for the next two months eating PBJs instead of getting shredded for the NFL draft? So when you’re in front of these scouts, you’re ready to go. Instead of another two months in that system where you’re really breaking down your body."
Q from around 13 min. mark. Why are you passionate about this?
A: "I think the thing is, you just said it. It’s a business decision. Coaches make business decisions, TV analysts. But all of the sudden when a 21 or 22 year old kid makes a business decision, its not right. I can’t understand that. These kids are getting smarter. They’re starting to get smarter and see the system. I’ll even talk about the NIL stuff with what kind of went down in the state legislature this year where they tried to delay the year, to where it would have been 2022. To where the can would keep getting kicked down the road where these guys can’t profit off their own last name. Not the names on the front of the jerseys. It literally makes zero sense that they tried slipping in a one-liner to delay this NIL bill.
"And if Florida would have delayed it, the whole country would have delayed it. The NCAA wouldn’t have folded. For me, now its providing opportunities for female athletes, male athletes, to run camps in their own names. To get extra money in their pockets. To help their families out. Its kind of been a corrupt system for a while. I think we are starting to get where the kids are starting to figure out- this isn’t right. I can opt out when really the ball is in my court. These coaches can go leave for 100 million dollar contracts at the snap of a finger. But if a guy decides to opt out for one game, a bowl when you’re 8-4, c’mon man it makes no sense.”
