UCLA and Under Armour are reportedly set to ink a 15-year, $280 million apparel deal that would be the largest in college football history. If anything, it furthers the point that major college athletics is a huge business, ripe for profit. Meanwhile, the guys who actually play the game still won't see a dime other than in the form of an athletic scholarship.
UCLA's sophomore quarterback, Josh Rosen, takes issue with this, as he noted on his Instagram account.
"We're still amateurs though ... Gotta love non-profits #NCAA," he wrote.
Rosen is no stranger to speaking his mind on more, shall we say, worldly topics. Two months ago, Rosen took a picture of himself golfing and wearing a [Expletive] Donald Trump hat. Now, he's taking the amateurism model to task.
You can disagree with Rosen's political stance. You can disagree with Rosen's belief that he's being exploited. However, two things at least need to be acknowledged:
First, Rosen's individual value is likely a lot greater than most college athletes. He's a star quarterback who's been followed closely ever since he was a blue-chip recruit. What is Rosen's market value? It's hard to say because there's no system in place to measure it. But he has some value. Right now, he's not receiving any compensation for it.
Secondly, Rosen speaks his mind. Whether you like what he has to say or not, you have to give him some credit for it. Too many athletes are scared to be themselves out of fear for media/fan backlash. That's how we get stock answers and boring personalities. (However, it should be noted Rosen deleted this Instagram photo, surely under pressure.)
Still, college football needs more players like Josh Rosen and Cardale Jones. The worst thing any of us can do is suppress a player's right to be themselves.
Especially when they're pointing out the hypocrisy of so-called amateur athletics.
