My devil's advocate to all of this is that yes....I do agree with Fry that the Universities and Coaches have profited plenty off of college sports and their teams. However, these people are professionals (they graduated, or they are working an actual W2 Job).....the players are student athletes....or at least they use to be. Again, I think NIL is further creating divisions of have and have nots. It is also creating more me-me-me talk....and less team talk and goals.
For example, the last time I saw Kris talking on KCRG (and his picture being up on the draft board in error when his brother was at Draft night) he was talking all about his goals of making the NBA. Not once did I hear anything about team goals in that spot. Just about me and my game.
I think you should be either a student or a professional. I kind of like Mike Leech's ideas I read that tried find a compromise for all of this. If I remember right, he said there could be a normal student track with a scholarship (college paid for, your meals, lodging, etc) but you can't take NIL money, the other option is declare yourself a professional and you take NIL money, but you can be cut from the program for any reason.....no scholarship for these track folks...pay your own way.
But, I much rather get rid of NIL all together and you get paid once you are a professional and not a student athlete.
If student athletes do in fact become employees, I do think they should have the right to join a union with collective bargaining.
But, I think the whole thing is ridiculous....when you are playing for a college you are suppose to be a student....and when you are start letting money slip into things some colleges are going to have far more than others (and deeper pocket donors).....that is not good for programs like Iowa that want to break the glass ceiling....and have a hard enough time as it is prior to NIL.
It is the death kneel of amateurism at the college level. The only pure levels left are high school and junior high.