In his first book, Study Hall: College Football, Its Stats and Its Stories, Bill Connelly describes college football as an ungovernable mess. In other words, for all its passion and pageantry, there are equal parts corruption and chaos. For decades, pundits and casual fans alike have debated a myriad of issues as they relate to college sports and, more specifically, student-athletes. One of the most debated topics is player compensation, both permitted and illicit.
For simplicity, one side of the aisle says student-athletes already receive free room and board, books, meals, a stipend, and education while the other says the exponentially widening gap between revenue (TV contracts, revenue-sharing conference agreements, CFP bonuses) and compensation for players needs to be compressed.