The New Era Of College Sports - There Reportedly Will Be An 8-Team College Hoops Tournament Next Season With $2 Million In NIL Money To The Winner

[Source] - The tournament operator is guaranteeing that sponsors and other tournament partners will offer each school a total of $1 million in NIL money for participating. That money will be funneled to collectives, boosters, or other NIL entities, and the coaches and teams will be able to distribute that money however they see fit, as long as the money goes to current players. The winning team will be eligible to earn another $1 million, to be distributed in the same way. 

I know people are going to hate this. They see $1 million in NIL money and immediately lose their mind. But you know what? I'm all in on it. I love the fact they get an extra $1 million for winning. That's how it should be. People want to tie NIL to accomplishments and make it a bonus of sorts, well here it is As for who is expected to play in it: 

Not a fan of calling it The Players Era, but whatever. As for the teams, how do you get picked here? That's what I need to know. It's a huge advantage to tell a recruit hey you're gonna get $40,000 if you come here because we have this tournament lined up. But if you're telling me we can get an awesome third tournament early in the season to go with Maui and Atlantis? Yeah, sign me up. My bald ass will be planted firmly on my recliner excited to watch FAU/San Diego State again. I'm sure the list of teams will grow, basically anyone who isn't currently signed up to play in a MTE as of now. 

I also have no idea how this lasts. You're talking about $9 million the first year alone. That can't be sustainable. But might as well take advantage if you're a team. Also I see people calling this pay-for-play. It's not that. This is just the new era of college sports. Throw some NIL money out there and see what happens. I'm sure people will bitch, until the games happen. Then you'll be talking about how awesome it is to have games on during the day. 

Again, little secret: people have been getting money in college sports since the beginning of time. Yeah, the NCAA fucked up being reactionary and now trying to figure it out, but this? This is something we all should be behind. Get extra money for winning a tournament is the perfect incentive.