College Football Signing Day

The three biggest days in college football are:  1) The first game of the season, 2) the rivalry game, and 3) National Signing Day.  And coming in a distant fourth is the National Championship because that game is usually terrible and only two of the past nine BCS National Championships have been remotely close (2005 - Texas v. USC and 2010 - Auburn v. Oregon) and worth watching.

Today we are going to talk about number three on that list, National Signing Day.  The day where recruits can finally sign a letter of intent and boosters can sign big checks to those recruits.  Wait a second, Brainfart, are you telling me that you think college football prospects accept cash and gifts from schools which is completely against NCAA rules?  Yes I do, dear reader.  Why wouldn't they?  I mean, what exactly is going to stop them?  The school itself?  Hell no.  A university that gets caught red-handed paying players will face numerous sanctions (by the NCAA, an institution that in theory has no actual power to do anything) like paying fines, forfeiting wins, and worst of all, losing scholarships.  But it might actually be worse for the recruit himself.  If he is caught, not only is his free ride to a solid university taken away, but he can no longer play football and prove to NFL scouts that he is a good enough player to make it in their league, you know, the place where this kid will be making some real cash.  On top of that, even if he is drafted, his credibility takes a huge hit and his draft stock plunges so far that it will take him years of proving himself in order to finally get a decent contract with a team and that means he has to stay healthy which is nearly impossible to do in football.  So, if a college football prospect is paid for his services, how could they get caught if everyone involved wouldn't dream of snitching about it?  I'm serious.  The only way that they could get caught is if the NCAA goes and looks at their bank accounts, but they don't actually have any real authority, so I still don't know how these kids and universities get caught.  Oh wait, I forgot that these are immature teenagers who can't keep their mouths shut and that when one university beats out (outbids) another one for a football recruit, they might also let a couple things slip.  And that's how Cam Newton almost got caught, which brings me to an interesting subject - the perfect loophole.

Do you know why Cam Newton was never caught?  It was because Cam and his parents said that he didn't personally know that they were asking for money and therefore, nothing was ever proven.  So, if you are the parents of a big-time college football prospect, the perfect loophole has been created.  All they have to do is go to a school and ask for money and they will then promise to steer their kid to your respective school.  Sure, that kid could still pick another school, but then all you really have to do is go to a representative of the school your kid really wants to go to and ask for cash.  It really is that simple.  As long as your kid doesn't know about it and that school doesn't get caught, you can get enough money to last you until he makes it pro and pays off your house.  So, enjoy tomorrow's National Signing Day and the ridiculous spectacle that these kids put the colleges that they are about to pick through.

"Auburn may or may not have paid Cam Newton $200,000.  If you ask me, after winning a National Championship and a Heisman Trophy, they definitely earned back their investment and then some."