Showed them the money

Emulate the ostrich, NCAA!

National Collegiate Athletic Association schools pay for loss-of-value insurance policies for some of their athletes through the Student Assistance Fund. That allows a football or basketball player with the potential for a professional career to recoup money if an on-field injury cuts future earnings.

The NCAA doesn’t limit how much schools can put toward those bills, which is a factor talented athletes consider when deciding whether to turn professional. President Mark Emmert said that may change next month when the NCAA’s new legislative body, known as the Council, meets for the first time.

Smart, very smart, Mark. Remove one of the incentives keeping your best players from bolting to the NFL and NBA. We're all amateurs here!

FSU [Florida State] coach Jimbo Fisher said this year that the insurance payment is an incentive for players [such as his star QB] to stay in school.

“They all want to leave for the money,” Fisher said at the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Media Day, according to NBC Sports. “If I know the money is guaranteed, I can stay and get a college degree.”

If they can read at a fourth grade level, that is?

Emmert said he was in favor of providing insurance payments to the “one or two percent” of football and basketball players with legitimate professional prospects. He said he didn’t know exactly how to decide who they are.

“I understand why a college athlete would want to have that in place,” he said. “And I think there needs to be a way to provide that protection and insurance.”

Well, there is now, Mark. Your 'Council' is thinking of displacing it.