This is another reason I am skeptic about movements to allow college athletes to get paid. We already have some getting improper benefits illegally that aren't being held accountable and now if you open up some legal opportunities who isn't to say that coaches and "friends of the program" at blueblood schools aren't going to line up some more lucrative loophole "opportunities" for recruits that it will basically be near impossible for smaller schools that don't have a deep pool of wealthy donors to be able to be in the running for elite players when these schools can offer them way more in monetary opportunities. I know there are going to be rules around that but to me I worry that it's going to make it a lot harder to uncover improper benefits and recruiting violations when people already are loosely following the more strict rules in place right now.
But IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING. Making it legal just eliminates the black market that already exists and favors the big schools. The only thing that changes is that instead of giving the car to the uncle, the SEC bag man could give it directly to the kid. Not only is it morally right to allow “student-athletes” to get paid, it probably levels the playing field for coaches that aren’t currently willing to get that dirty. Plus, taxes.