The O'Bannon suit is going to get downright crazy if it goes to discovery and beyond. It will be like Curt Flood in how it changes things. I think it is a foregone conclusion. If some businesses are smart, they will start planning an alternative to the NCAA and NAIA right away and have things ready to go if everything goes blammo.
I think this NFL settlement really hit me with two surprises... 1- How much money the lawyers got. It is staggering. I think it is in triple digits if my math is correct, but one of the main points of contention is only getting a $10 million set-aside. I knew lawyers would get a lot, but to have it settled this quickly and collect that kind of cash is amazing. Good for them I guess, but I thought originally it was "noble" but each dollar out to them is a dollar away from a guy with brain damage supposedly, so it's just strange is all. But you gotta get paid I s'pose.
The other thing is that the NFL settled. Doesn't this open up the door for other class actions from those who excluded themselves or will exclude themselves from the settlement group? Basically they threw in the towel, but this won't prevent others from taking up a lawsuit right away or even ten years down the road correct? Or does the NFL figure if they have this hush money fund, that guys will just jump in and take the cash and deal with it, and won't sue over and over? Do current players now get informed straight out as part of the agreement that they are going to likely suffer brain damage and it will be the end of them in short order if they cross the NFL? I'm thinking the NFL is really running a great risk by just admitting it, but the fact that they did kind of says that they are admitting they were liars and self-serving and they knew it was either pay up or possibly risk an award large enough to bankrupt the league. Very very interesting.
I think the Ed O'Bannon suit is pretty amazing in a lot of ways and I'm really interested to see how far it goes, and if Ed is remembered as "the guy that changed the game" in a lot of ways. He was going to be a big NBA star and didn't pan out, but he could ultimately prove to be the guy and the name attached to a decision that fundamentally changes amateurism and basically destroys the NCAA as we know it. He's the ultimate "BCS Buster" if he gets the rules changed to the point where college football teams and basketball teams are basically just minor league teams (or even another major league) that is "sponsored" by a University, but has no connection to academics and such. The guys will be pros and can go to the "UCLA" football team and play on a salary in hopes of moving up to a bigger league like the NBA. It would be very funny to me if things like recruiting rules and eligibility and such went out the window. A guy could play for "Alabama Football...brought to you by Visa" for 15 years. Will it go that far? Of course not... but conceivably it could if the whole thing blows up and has to form some new setup.
