Paying 7 figures for a softball player

[Hookem1012]

Imagine doing that not once, but twice. For revenue sports, sure. But for a non revenue sport? I just find that hilarious and a waste of money that could and probably should be used to improve sports that make your school money. End of line.

[El Pancho]

I’m conflicted about it. 
 

Good for her if someone is going to dish out that money. 
 

Im not sure it’s good for softball but I’m not a big fan of the sport. How can one person take an average to above average team to a national championship in a team sport?  I guess its just the nature of this game where pitchers aren’t really limited and the arm can slow bats that much. 
 

I don’t watch much softball but I like to watch Texas sports in general.  When I first heard that Canada has pitched every single pitch in the WCWS for Tech, it just dumbfounded me- even more so when I see the team stats that are behind her. 

[Ace Recruiter]

53 minutes ago, Hookem1012 said:

Imagine doing that not once, but twice. For revenue sports, sure. But for a non revenue sport? I just find that hilarious and a waste of money that could and probably should be used to improve sports that make your school money. End of line.

Pretty sure they got their money's worth in advertising. Have you watched the 2st 2 games? Basically a tech love fest for a couple of hours for the last 2 days. They'd be sitting at home watching without that 1 player.

[Bevohorns]

While 1 million seems like a lot for a non revenue sport if you can give one player the biggest percentage of your NIL package to carry a team and they can take you all to the very end its well worth it. I mean I bet the other players make like nothing close to that and they aren't remotely as good players as her but they are still here. 

Edited 14 hours ago by Bevohorns

[Lnghrn]

1 hour ago, Hookem1012 said:

Imagine doing that not once, but twice. For revenue sports, sure. But for a non revenue sport? I just find that hilarious and a waste of money that could and probably should be used to improve sports that make your school money. End of line.

 Not sure rev vs non-rev matters to the donor.  I don’t give to Texas one fund to help generate more $ for UT football.  I give to help make the program successful.  What matters is the whether the people that give the money feel like they received the return on their investment.  In the case of NIL, donors are not looking for a monetary return but instead satisfaction from the success of the program they donate to.

[Ace Recruiter]

8 minutes ago, Lnghrn said:

 Not sure rev vs non-rev matters to the donor.  I don’t give to Texas one fund to help generate more $ for UT football.  I give to help make the program successful.  What matters is the whether the people that give the money feel like they received the return on their investment.  In the case of NIL, donors are not looking for a monetary return but instead satisfaction from the success of the program they donate to.

And in case of Cody Campbell and sugar daddy donors like him, they get credit for the success of the team. A nice perk that not all Billionaires have.

[Sanka Decaf]

Billionaires have the luxury of not needing to act with logic (I'm not one BTW).

[Bevo92]

I can imagine the Sellers (alumni couple who contributed $11m, including $1m to improve softball field and $1m for Canaday) probably feel this is the best investment they’ve ever made.   Puts Tech on the sports map and made them relevant.   The university has to be loving the publicity this has given them.   I’m impressed they were able to turn around the program in 1 yr.   

[Jordan91]

1 hour ago, Hookem1012 said:

Imagine doing that not once, but twice. For revenue sports, sure. But for a non revenue sport? I just find that hilarious and a waste of money that could and probably should be used to improve sports that make your school money. End of line.

Basketball is a revenue sport and getting Toppin last year paid off big time. Many people thought they were crazy. They just gave him another four million. These guys really want to win. A billionaire can do anything he wants. He seems to want Tech to be great in everything, but I don’t think that’s possible. It will never work in football. Talking about paying for twenty two starters and their second team (in case of injury), will never happen. What’s funny is that is how much money it takes to get athletes to go to Lubbock. It literally takes millions to get one player to go there. 

[tsip92]

What’s the price tag of pride?  $1m for a chance to play for a NC is a better use of money than a flashy sports car IMO.  They’ll remember that for the rest of their lives.  The car, maybe???

[CoachBobbyFinstock]

They got their ROI back on Canady.

Possible NC this year and they’ll be back next year too.

Tech is showing you can buy a title.

[Johnny Bevo]

I’m just going to assume this was in response to someone tampering. (Someone whose truck stops funded a new stadium, perhaps?!)  Hard to say it isn’t money well spent.  A&M only wishes they could buy talent this effectively!  

[Austalgia]

1 hour ago, Ace Recruiter said:

Pretty sure they got their money's worth in advertising. Have you watched the 2st 2 games? Basically a tech love fest for a couple of hours for the last 2 days. They'd be sitting at home watching without that 1 player.

This.  It wouldn’t be worth it for Texas, we have the athletes and the exposure already.  Was it worth it for a Tech team and brand that is irrelevant?  It thrust them into a national championship, gave them the label of “caring” about women’s sports (good PR), they are on ESPN showing Patrick Mahomes. The result of the gamble that hit improves their brand/exposure, and has the potential to increase enrollment, thus generating revenue . Also, agree that the donor doesn’t care about return (he can give oil money directly to the school if that is his only goal), it was obviously worth it to him to compete for a championship, or he wouldn’t have done it.  

Edited 12 hours ago by Austalgia

[southpaw]

I'm just wondering what Deloitte would say if the House settlement happens.  Her deal is >5x more than what they said on the broadcast is the highest deal they know for softball ($175K).

If that's true, would Deloitte kick it back?

[BobInHouston]

23 minutes ago, southpaw said:

I'm just wondering what Deloitte would say if the House settlement happens.  Her deal is >5x more than what they said on the broadcast is the highest deal they know for softball ($175K).

If that's true, would Deloitte kick it back?

It would show that Deloitte would have no business reviewing anything. 

Someone with no skin in the game will decide how much skin should be in the game. That's profoundly stupid.

[BobInHouston]

Tech got everything it wanted out of this deal. I'm sure it's worth it. If they get a championship, so much the better.

[southpaw]

10 minutes ago, BobInHouston said:

It would show that Deloitte would have no business reviewing anything. 

Someone with no skin in the game will decide how much skin should be in the game. That's profoundly stupid.

I agree with you.  But everything I've read seems to suggest that is the plan if the settlement is approved.

[horns96]

Sure, I think it's worth it for a school that has one National Championship.  

The thing I can't get over is that she makes 4X as much as the head coach.

 

[Lnghrn]

49 minutes ago, BobInHouston said:

It would show that Deloitte would have no business reviewing anything. 

Someone with no skin in the game will decide how much skin should be in the game. That's profoundly stupid.

Deloitte is supposed to be the independent organization that monitor whether NIL is legit going forward.  The idea is to get rid of “play for pay” and instead pay players for true marketing of their name image likeness.  In other words nil would be more like pro athlete endorsement deals.

[BobInHouston]

39 minutes ago, Lnghrn said:

Deloitte is supposed to be the independent organization that monitor whether NIL is legit going forward.  The idea is to get rid of “play for pay” and instead pay players for true marketing of their name image likeness.  In other words nil would be more like pro athlete endorsement deals.

Exactly. Deloitte has nothing at stake and is telling the schools how to spend their money. 

[GQ03]

3 hours ago, Lnghrn said:

Deloitte is supposed to be the independent organization that monitor whether NIL is legit going forward.  The idea is to get rid of “play for pay” and instead pay players for true marketing of their name image likeness.  In other words nil would be more like pro athlete endorsement deals.

Which is what this should've been this whole time.

[GoHorns1]

Tech got an excellent return of investment. Got more than million dollar worth advertising for Tech.

[horns96]

They got the opportunity to promote Mahomes in TCEH gear in primetime on ESPN.  That was probably worth the investment.  

...but I wonder what the rest of their roster received in NIL?  

[TXFF]

It's clear to me that the tt BMDs are looking to seize leadership of the diminished Big12 now that Texas and ou are gone. Softball is probably the sport most likely to benefit from bringing in one elite player to pitch. Not a bad strategy unless they're expected to pitch three full games in three days against elite competition. 

[DanielOnorato]

Despite tonight's loss, Nijaree Canady is far from a waste of money.