In the NIL era, if you want a good college football team, get ready to pay for it

College football players started getting paid above the table instead of below, and now watching and enjoying the sport just keeps getting more expensive for the average Joe.

In anticipation of revenue sharing with the athletes likely starting next season, the University of Tennessee announced a 10% "talent fee" will be added to ticket costs for 2025 and beyond in order to pay the players.

Tennessee reported athletic revenue exceeding $200-million in 2023. The SEC distributed over $51 million to each member institution last year after raking in nearly $853 million in TV contracts and postseason revenue, a number that will likely exceed a billion dollars next year with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma along with the lucrative TV contract the conference signed with ESPN/ABC for broadcasting rights.

But the schools don't want to share that money with the players. They want the money from your paycheck. NIL and the transfer portal were propped up as a means to level the playing field; schools have been paying players under-the-table since time immemorial.

Now it can be done above board, and people really thought that would even the playing field between the haves and have-nots?

Eveything about college football has changed for the worse in the last few years. Money has always been the No. 1 driving factor for any decision making, but fan experience used to be on the agenda. If it's on the agenda now, it must be written in tiny print.

Understand, Tennessee might be the first program to announce this added cost for tickets to pay players. They will not be the last.

Football has always been a game where social class didn't matter. Everyone could grow up playing football; your Daddy didn't need a Country Club membership for you to play. All you needed was a ball and a patch of grass. Some of us got by without the patch of grass. Some without the ball.

We all dreamed of going to the football Mecca's of our respective regions. Poor young kids in Alabama dreamed of going to Bryant-Denny or Jordan-Hare. Those in Tennessee wanted to make the pilgrimage to Neyland.

It was always an extra expense to go to a college football game. Fans spent money they didn't really have because it meant so much to them. Parents spent the money because it meant everything to a young kid. Now that poor young kid getting to experience a live game in the stadium they've dreamt of has gotten more unrealistic.

And understand, this is just the tip of the spear - that 10% will grow. More will be asked of you, the fan, than ever before.

If you want to cheer for a good college footbal team now, you better be prepared to pay for it. The guys in tailored suits driving the Mercedes Benz's ain't letting it affect their pocket book. But the people who work at the Mercedes plant need to set aside part of their paycheck or pick up a few extra shifts.

Little Johnny needs braces, but Alabama has a glaring hole at tight end.

Hey honey, we're gonna be a little late on the mortgage this month, our quarterback is in the portal.

Those who go to church on Sundays tend to set aside 10% of their income for God. If southerners are serious about football being a religion in the Deep South, they may want to set aside an extra 10% for their football team. Or maybe slice God's share in half. I'm sure he'll understand.

The money has to come from somewhere after all, and it's not coming from the school.