Systems_id;1925876; said:
Paying Cam Newton $180,000 doesn't change the fact that someone like UTEP had no shot in hell of landing him in the first place.
Unless UTEP is the one offering $180K. Sure, Alabama would have more cash overall to throw at players, but it's not inconceivable that a UTEP (or an SMU) could get get a few big boosters together and buy some higher powered teams than they currently recruit.
In any event, keeping a level playing field isn't necessarily the primary reason for wanting to avoid paying players. I personally have little interest in seeing a level playing field (i.e. seeing most or all schools have a similar chance of landing highly sought after recruits), but I dislike the idea of seeing college football players being paid substantial salaries, or raking in substantial endorsement money.
The reason is that I think the amateur nature of the game is essential to what makes it unique; what makes it worth watching. I like watching college students from Ohio State beat college students from Michigan in football. I'm not nearly as interested in seeing a bunch of guys that OSU hired beat a bunch of guys that UM hired. If I want to watch professional football, I'll watch the NFL. It seems to me a lot less interesting to watch a far less talented semi-pro league, even if one of the teams in that league happens to be wearing uniforms that looks like Ohio State uniforms.
And you could certainly make the argument that it's a semi-pro league already, what with scholarships, and modest stipends, and so forth. That's true, and I'm not sure where the dividing line is where it would become so professional that it would lose its essential amateur character. But if there were college football players openly making more money than a lot of heads of household make, that would go a long way in that direction, for me.