I Fixed College Football
The *new* landscape of Tier I college football, if it were up to me
I’ve always been told “don’t complain about a problem without providing a solution”. Here’s me practicing that - fixing the “problem” that is college football. Tall task? Sure. Does it require some pie-in-the-sky assumptions and voiding of ironclad contracts? Absolutely.
But why not? We’re a few weeks into what feels like the final “normal” season of college football as we know it. The rules have changed immensely with the introduction of NIL and TV networks wielding all the power. In my ideal world, here’s a step-by-step process to building the future framework of a sport I love.
STEP 1A: ASSUMPTIONS
Before you pick this column apart and bring in “facts”, this is where I acknowledge the infinitely small possibility of this scenario unfolding. The full list of assumptions I’ve made is at the bottom of this article but long story short, we’re ripping up contracts, acting like conference presidents wouldn’t throw a fit, and pretending ADs would accept everything here more or less sight-unseen.
STEP 1B: CREATE THE NCFA & CFPA
College football will continue to devolve into a lattice of greedy megaconferences untouched by the NCAA with nothing but TV partners guiding their decisions. These conferences won’t be thinking about the athletes, nor the NCAA, nor anyone outside their boardrooms.
The sport can no longer be governed entirely regionally. A new entity, much like the CFP Committee (which consists of 10 conference presidents and Notre Dame’s AD for some reason?), is required. A complete split from current conferences, the NCAA, and everything and everyone in between is required.
The NCFA - National College Football Association
A brand new entity responsible for sport-wide governance, conference politics, the postseason, federal mandates, competition, rules, refs, and really any operational day-to-day dealings in the sport of college football.
They have a seat at the table when it comes to revenue discussions with the best interest of EVERY conference and the sport as a whole as their #1 priority. They set NIL regulation, govern financial rules on behalf of the universities and conferences (i.e. salary cap), suspend, litigate, and generally serve as the legal giant of college football. Their word is final and their power absolute.
The commissioner of this entity would be Goodell-like in stature and be responsible for growing the reach of the sport, increasing revenues, and aligning an ever-increasing number of stakeholders in and around the game of college football. Conferences and ADs act like owners, having a say in the election, compensation, and performance metrics of this person.
Next up is the counterbalance - the College Football Players Association.
This entity exists to serve the best interests of the athletes responsible for making the money.
These folks collectively bargain with the NCFA to determine working conditions, increase pay, manage FRR escrow (football related revenue), litigate suspensions, injury settlements, and licensing, and designate *officially licensed* agents to deal with conference officials in an *official* capacity. No more parents/aunts/uncles/AAU coaches representing college football players informally.
The CFPA represents the opposite side of the negotiating table when it comes to a newly constructed CBA.
STEP 2: REALIGNMENT & SCHEDULE
Four regional “superconferences” consisting of 16 teams each will make up the new landscape of college football. North, South, West, and Central. Sorry, East.
Another look at said Tier I conferences
And they function relatively independently from the NCFA (National Collegiate Football Association). Hey Brett, why is that? Why don’t you just wrap them into the NCFA and have them do everything?
It makes sense to have them operate as relatively separate entities governed under the umbrella of the NCFA for a few reasons.
Competition when it comes to TV rights. The ability to stay away from market manipulation here is crucial in a free market bidding situation. Each conference also negotiates and takes the lion's share of revenue to distribute to their respective universities.
Licensing agreements. Feel free to sell those logos for football merchandise as you see fit, superconferences.
Disbursements. Independent revenue decisions can be made by each conference as far as payouts go which will finance athletic departments as well as the lesser-competitive teams. These structures will be independently negotiated by each conference with their members and may consider things like success, program brand recognition, and revenue generated by non-football sports.
Throw out FBS, FCS, and any other designation you’re familiar with and let’s ride.
Tier I NCFA is comprised of 64 teams, 16 in each conference, geographically aligned. Same goes for Tier II. Let’s take a look:
Tier I
Tier II
Why is team x in Tier I instead of Tier II? A completely subjective system of placement based loosely on rankings, brand recognition, and personal preference.
What do the colors mean? We’ll get to that. Let’s talk scheduling.
Each team will play the following regular season:
One (1) Preseason game(!): ANY Tier III opponent
Now your team demolishing Directional State in week 1 doesn’t count towards your final record. Coaches have the opportunity to take scrimmages to another level, play more guys that are in position battles, and keep starters fresh.
Universities have the chance to earn ticket, concession, and additional TV revenue while keeping their records intact and star players healthy.
Tier III teams will take this scrimmage check home to finance their athletic department and TV revenue will be split between the two participating programs, negotiated in partnership with the NCFA.
One (1) Tier II conference game: A Tier II opponent with the same respective seed as the Tier I team in previous season finish
Week 1. Season opener.
If your team finished 3rd in the Tier I Southern Conference last season, your team will play the 3rd place finisher in the Tier II Southern Conference from last season. For the above grid’s sake, this would mean Ole Miss vs. UCF.
Two (2) Tier I non-conference games: Tier I opponents, 1 equal seed game (1st vs 1st), 1 opposite seed game (1st vs 16th). Conferences rotate each year.
Weeks 2 & 3.
In the first year of this system, let’s say the North and South are paired as conferences. Same goes for Central and West. These designations rotate each year.
If your team finished 1st, they will play the 1st place finisher from your paired conference in one game. This would mean Texas vs. USC in our sample grid.
If your team finished 1st, their other non-conference game will be the 16th place finisher from your paired conference (or 15 vs 2, 11 vs 6, so on & so forth). This would mean Texas vs. Boise State in our sample grid.
These games are TV properties of the NCFA, not the conferences. Conferences will split a share of the revenue but not negotiate as part of their TV rights.
Eight (8) Tier I conference games. All Tier I opponents, including 1 standing “rivalry” game.
Your team plays eight (8) games against opponents in your conference, including one (1) standing permanent rivalry game only interrupted if a team is relegated (more on that later).
Conference games are scheduled through a matrix that I took a crack at. Rocket science.
These games are exclusively sold by each superconference, with 100% of TV revenue going to their respective coffers.
Only 11 regular season games? Correct. A preseason game plus a guaranteed postseason game makes up for lost revenue. Record books are another story.
Sticking with the Texas example, here’s what their schedule would look like in a hypothetical regular season:
A look at a hypothetical Ole Miss season:
And finally, we’ll try on a Tier II team for size. Go Bobcats.
Playoffs (?!)
Each conference will be responsible for organizing the following:
Top 6 finishing teams by record in each conference make the postseason (green in our charts)
1st and 2nd place teams receive a bye (darker green in our charts)
3rd place team vs 6th place team // 4th place team vs 5th place team in hypothetical week 12
1st place team vs lowest seed remaining // 2nd place team vs highest seed remaining in hypothetical week 13
Winners face off in Conference Championship game
Each conference playoff game is a TV property of the respective conference
Conference winners then move on to a 4-team championship tournament organized by the NCFA
1st highest ranked vs 4th highest ranked team
2nd highest ranked vs 3rd highest ranked team
Winners play to determine National Champion
These 3 games are TV properties of the NCFA with a negotiated share of revenue going to each conference and each team
Now for the relegation part (red on our chart):
Bottom two conference finishers play for their lives in Tier I college football and the distributions that come with it. Winner stays Tier I.
Loser of the game plays the winner of the Tier II conference division for the right to play next season in Tier I.
In our case above, this would be the loser of NC State vs Florida playing the presumed winner of the Tier II South, Wake Forest, for a spot in the Tier I Southern Conference Tier I next year
What about those in the middle? Say like North Carolina who finishes a hypothetical 8th in the South.
Good question - a traditional “bowl” game! No matter their record. They play their paired conference equal finisher at the end of the year - North Carolina vs. Louisville in our grid example. These “bowls” are organized, distributed, and financially incentivized by the NCFA to encourage effort by players and coaches alike.
This all holds true for Tier II. Including the determination of a Tier II “National Champion”. This doesn’t guarantee your ability to advance to Tier I, however, because you still need to beat the Tier I last-place finisher to be promoted.
How does this all work?
STEP 3: MONEY
College football is a financial behemoth and that will continue in this new world. TV rights generate the majority of cash in this sport and that will not change. There are 5 entities fighting for TV dollars that we’ve covered already - the NCFA and each of the four conferences.
I imagine these new conferences and their deputies/participating ADs courting networks at any number of Montage hotels like they’re a developing nation trying to buy their way to an Olympic Winter Games or World Cup. Market price steaks? In spades.
There are obviously also other forms of revenue that will generally contribute to each entity’s bottom line.
In my mind, here’s how that revenue structure works throughout the CFB landscape:
The NCFA is responsible for negotiating and benefits from the following:
TV rights to their established package of games
3 Tier I national playoff games
128 Tier I non-conference games (1 vs 1, 1 vs 16) (2 games x 64 teams)
128 Tier II non-conference games (1 vs 1, 1 vs 16) (2 games x 64 teams)
16 Tier I non-playoff bowls
Incentivized by the NCFA for players to play. The higher the ranking, the more money at stake in the bowl game
3 Tier II national playoff games
16 Tier II non-playoff bowls
Establishment and governance of the soft salary cap
Luxury tax enforcement and collection from violating schools
Judicial activity in cases of suspension, insurance disputes, competition
Licensing of NCFA logo + cut of conference licensing revenue + cut of university licensing revenue + cut of individual athlete licensing revenue
Merch, jersey sales, & video game specific
Gambling regulation and national partnership negotiation with sportsbook(s) + gambling revenue disbursement from sportsbook
Institution and enforcement of a weekly injury report from each team
The individual conferences are responsible for negotiating and benefit from the following:
TV rights to their established package of games
16 preseason games (1 game x 16 teams)
128 Tier I conference games (8 games x 16 teams)
128 Tier II conference games (8 games x 16 teams)
16 Tier I/II intra-conference games (1 game x 16 teams)
5 Tier I conference playoff games
5 Tier II conference playoff games
4 Tier I/II intra-conference relegation bowls
Organization of conference competitions, playoff competitions, and officiating therein
On-premise sponsorship/advertising/ticketing/concessions revenue from playoff/relegation competitions
Licensing of conference logo + cut of university licensing revenue + cut of individual athlete revenue
Gambling revenue disbursement from NCFA agreement
Negotiated cut of ticket conference game ticket sales
Establishment and operation of conference-specific media networks and their ensuing monetization
TV, digital media, audio, editorial under a conference umbrella
For example, The SCN (Southern Conference Network) operates media, both linear and digital, that covers team beats, recruiting, commentary, and analysis
These properties are monetized through traditional media advertising, subscriptions, fan meetup ticket sales, and merch
The individual universities are responsible for negotiating and benefit from the following:
Negotiated disbursement of TV rights revenue
Program salary cap management
Negotiated cut of conference digital media revenue
Gameday ticket sales, concessions, and on-field/on-premise stadium sponsorships
Stadium naming rights
Licensing of university logo + cut of individual athlete licensing revenue
Donor/Booster contributions to program
Allocating FRR (football related revenue) to non-revenue generating sports
The individual athletes are responsible for negotiating and benefit from the following:
Negotiated disbursement of TV rights revenue
Yes, revenue sharing!
Contracted pay-for-play as “revenue-driving college athletes”
Negotiated disbursement of licensing revenue from jersey sales, autographs, and other logo-tied marketable items
NIL revenue as it pertains to individual marketing efforts (counts as a percentage against the salary cap). Obviously this is the trickiest point in this entire column.
Participation within the NCFA Players Association
Salary Cap / Luxury Tax
In this world, we’re treating athletes as professionals with negotiated contracts through legitimate agents. To standardize and more importantly organize the financial web that comes with paying college football players, we’re instituting a salary cap. This will level the playing field when it comes to allocating talent and ensuring that there is transparency throughout the CFB landscape.
However, this is college football after all and where would we be if we embraced total parity in the game? Nowhere.
Thus, we have the soft cap and luxury tax. The big boys in the sport will still be permitted to go above the salary cap, just incurring a penalty for doing so. This luxury tax is implemented in the MLB and NBA and allows for talent to be stacked while benefiting the non-exploiting teams with additional revenue. The more you’re in violation of the cap, the more you pay in tax in an increasingly penalizing way. The NBA has a pretty good formula on this if you’re curious.
That means we need player contracts to get anywhere near a standardized system, which we solved the feasibility of by creating a new designation for these guys - “revenue-driving collegiate athletes”. Max contracts (say 8% of the salary cap in any given year) and minimum contracts exist. You count the highest 50-something contracts on your team against the cap, and now we’re getting somewhere.
I realize this may represent the biggest slippery slope possible in that those current NIL frameworks will still find ways to get kids paid outside the “contract”. So if a stud is making $500k per season on the books, he’ll have some bag drop deal with a Jeep dealership getting that number higher. Truly I have no idea how to combat that practice in this situation which would result in salary caps being circumvented, but the idea stands.
While we’re here, we’re also mandating 2-year “freshman” deals. Any player signing out of high school signs with a program for a minimum two years before being allowed to transfer (or be a free agent, however you look at it). This ensures players aren’t bailing after 9 weeks of spring ball because they aren’t in the two-deep already. Once two contract years have been completed (redshirt years count), players are free to sign a new contract for one or two years moving forward.
Football Program Business Entities/LLCs
Another slippery slope here but something that will become a reality in the new world of college football. European soccer teams create these structures regularly so it’s only a matter of time before we’re watching it happen here.
Say a team wanted to play with the “big boys” of college football. More competitive, higher profile, etc. With these new money rules, that potential exists for a traditional non-powerhouse to become a talent factory.
For example, the fellas over at SMU want to return to glory. The boosters and officials may find it advantageous to create SMU Football LLC, a business entity that handles the financial transactions, marketing, and negotiations on behalf of the SMU athletic department.
This entity could then sell equity stakes to investors, both foreign and domestic (looking at you Riyadh), in exchange for portions of future revenue, an exit windfall, etc. The program now has immediate money to revamp the roster, improve facilities, and not worry about luxury tax implications with the resource pool available.
The investors are essentially looking at this as a private equity play, and now have some control over the financial decisions over the program with an eye to the future. Not exactly a huge fan of this idea, but I’d imagine we’re closer than not to it being a reality.
STEP 4: TRANSFERS
The transfer system as it stands is too complicated. Here’s the quick fix:
Turn the opening of the Transfer Portal into a once-a-year made-for-tv event, much like the opening of traditional free agency
One free transfer no questions asked after your two “freshman contract” years are completed, provided it’s during the window.
Designate one true 30-day transfer window per year - after spring ball and prior to fall camp. Players must declare prior to the window being open and can only commit during the window. Contact with players can be made 72 hours in advance of the open window.
Once the window is closed, rosters are locked for the year
Hardship waivers available in the case of family emergencies and head coach firings
Grad transfer rules apply as-is - you can play anywhere with a free transfer
And there you have it. College football is fixed. To recap, here’s what we’re doing:
Establish the NCFA & CFPA
Designate college football players in between amateurs and professionals as “revenue-driving collegiate athletes”
Realign into 4 conferences
Negotiate new TV contracts like it’s Olympic bidding for conferences and NCFA national games
Negotiate revenue sharing and splits for NCFA, conferences, universities, and individual athletes alike
Establish the salary cap and procedures for governing it with soft cap, luxury tax, and NIL loopholes all considered
Amend transfer portal to be a once-a-year for-TV event
Play football
APPENDIX: ASSUMPTIONS
We’re absolutely and undoubtedly creating NFL-Light
Conference TV contracts are torn up immediately
Conference presidents are ok with losing their jobs or transitioning to new employment within the structure of the new National Collegiate Football Association/4-conference system. For example, current SEC officials and sales reps will be employed by the Southern Conference moving forward.
Athletic Directors are completely on board with this new system and willing to enter into negotiations on revenue disbursement within their athletic departments, football programs/business entities, and conference/national overlords.
All teams are ok with potentially playing 16 games in a season (not including a preseason game)
I’m fixing *college football*, not college sports. By operating as a separate entity, I completely understand that traditional allocation of TV revenue will be affected and therefore non-revenue sports will be under tremendous pressure in some cases. I know many schools finance their non-revenue sports with excess football dollars and I *hope* this model accommodates that.
NCAA, NCFA, individual conferences, and universities are ok with the new football-specific parameters discussed such as a soft salary cap, luxury tax, and football-specific athletic designation.
Not an amateur, not a professional, but a “revenue-driving collegiate athlete” who’s held to certain in-between standards. They can make money, can be a contractor in the eyes of the government, NCAA, and NCFA, but still tied to classes, academic standards, school-specific personal standards, and sharing a portion of that revenue with the school in order to bolster non-revenue sports. They are able to have the status revoked if certain conditions are not being met.
Not saying it’s a perfect system, but I think this provides a solid framework formalizing the professional aspect of college football. The sport has long been ripe for this next chapter and until we see something like it, we’ll only continue to devolve into a format that makes absolutely no sense for anyone involved outside current conference presidents and TV executives.
In this scenario, everyone wins, everyone makes a shitload of money, and college football secures a bright future.
Sound off in the comments.