There seems to be some growing belief that the numbers in the bag game have changed or something. “half a mil” was an entire budget most years for most of the bag game programs.
They all started screeching when NIL unlocked payrolls at wealthier fanbase programs, like Texas, Michigan and Notre Dame. They don’t suddenly have more bag game money than they did 5 years ago. That’s part of why I’m rolling my eyes about the bag game concerns.
There’s always going to be some chicanery in each cycle for a pittance of what players can now legally make because dark markets rarely totally disappear. There are still bootleggers selling moonshine, after all.
The bigger risks, in my mind at least, are institutional cheating through rev share scams and the newer NIL big swinging dicks not named Texas just continuing to do whatever the fuck they want to do and the NCAA/House clearinghouse police not doing a damned thing about it.
The “Saban Discount” was real and it existed precisely because a number of the better recruits aren’t uninformed, blind idiots. These guys have all kinds of counsel around them and many of those around them are actually trying to help. Maybe not as altruists, maybe not always due to blood or love, but they’re there, giving guidance around the player’s future.
That is, of course, not all of the recruits and your point stands with a portion of them, just not even a majority, really.