The EPL Model: How College Football is becoming the North American Version of the Premiership
Since the inception of the English Premier League (EPL) as we know it in 1992, the combination of wealth, power and ego has transformed the concept of competition and parody into a frivolous argument used to only entice media advertisers and distribution mediums to continue the assault the intelligence of the audience in a feeble attempt to mask that only four to six teams only have a chance to win the crown each season. The recent changes in the structure of college football over the past ten years, as well as the inception of true Name Image and Likeness (NIL), mass media TV brokerage deals, and conference payout rights only magnifies the chance that the structure of college football is not just becoming a professional league, but will soon model the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that dazzles spectators with amazing contests and leaves little on the table for fan desirability.
The purchase of what would become the EPL in 1992 by Rupert
Murdoch created a mass influx of cash across the highest division of football
in England and brought in a massive state of wealth across the league as well
as publicity. The influx of cash made
for a more desirable product for TV viewing, better stadium upgrades, and then,
shortly after, the ability to spend on high profile players and managers to
uptick the interest in the league and the ability to capture championships. The beautiful game that was truly only
experienced by fans sitting in uncomfortable confines or listening to it on
local radio was transformed and broadcast into homes across the United Kingdom
– an instant billion dollar cash cow has been born. From 1992 through the 2021 EPL season there
have been a total of only seven different champions within the past 30 years –
three of those teams (Blackburn, Leicester City and Liverpool) have won the
league once. So, in the 30-year
inception of the EPL, four teams [Manchester United (13), Arsenal (3),
Manchester City (6) and Chelsea (5)] have one the league multiple times. In contrast, since the formation of the
English Football League in 1889, there had been a total of 23 had won the title
and only three had raised the trophy once.
The most recent data shows that the entirety of the EPL brings in over
2.5 billion British pounds during the 2021 year, which has increased 150% over
the past eight years. Much of that money
allows the top clubs to continue the cycle of buying up all the power to keep
the elite being elite.
In comparison, since the evolution of the BCS in 1998 and
the College Football Playoff (CFP) that began in 2014, 14 titles [Alabama (6),
LSU (2), Florida , Auburn, Tennessee, and Georgia] have been one by the SEC,
four by the ACC (Florida State two, Clemson two), two from the Pac-12 (USC –
shared in 2003), Big 10 (Ohio State) and Big 12 (Texas and Oklahoma), and one
from the now defunct Big East (Miami).
More than the conference dominance, as noted in Paul Finebaum’s book, My Conference Can Beat Your Conference,
it can be seen that there is a true regional accumulation of titles that
centers in the south eastern part of the country – which in fact resonates with
the interest and fire that surrounds those fan bases. The overlapping details of the concentration
of success and power on the gridiron very much parallels the overwhelming
growth and popularity on the pitch across the pond. The 1984 Anti-Trust law which changed TV
viewership for college football and increased revenue across all conferences,
which continues to increase (currently it is at $470 million and will increase
over a billion in the new deal) only will throw more and more money into the
regions, conference and programs that currently dominate the sport.
The influx of NIL revenue that players can obtain, which is
a fair compensation for the players and the massive amounts of money filtered
into these schools, only increases the grasp and power for zealous fan bases
and donors for the programs to shell out more money to increase the talent and
power on the field. This, in turn, has
already happened in the EPL as seen in the massive contracts, transfer moves
and roster changes that have permeated the teams at the top of the table and
the insane player deals and ownership takeovers in the pursuit of winning the
title. Furthermore, although the new TV
money that will be infused into the conferences, just as it has been into the
EPL, still negates the fact that there truly is no parody, even though the
money will be split evenly, there is not a cap or limit on the amount of money
players can receive, just as contracts in the EPL. Additionally, the addition of USC and UCLA to
the Pac 12, and Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC only concentrates the money and
power into the smaller pool – especially since three of those four schools have
won national titles in the Common Era. Currently,
there are reports of high-profile college football players making over $1
million this season (Bryce Young, Caleb Williams and Quinn Ewers reportedly
make $1 million or more), and this money is not being paid to them by the
school, as in they are not employees of their university. It is paid by donors and collectives for each
specific school and those numbers are not available to the public. There is a reported deal for a current
recruit committed to the University of Tennessee for over $8 million. This is parallel to the oil barons and other
rich tycoons from across the globe swooping in and owning EPL teams and backing
them with billions of dollars to buy the best coaches and players to challenge
for the league title. The summer and
mid-season transfer window in the EPL is a continual bidding war for teams to
boost their power for the league finish.
And the same transfer window has permeated into college football as the
NCAA has lifted the one-time transfer rule.
Two high-profile players, Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison, left their
current program and enrolled at USC.
Williams followed his coach and Addison, the reigning Biletnikoff winner
– best receiver in the country – was recruited away from his former program to
come to USC. This happens all over the
EPL without repercussion. The NBA, and
NFL have collusion rules which “prohibits” certain deals or exchanges such as
this to happen to an extent. The NCAA
and the EPL basically mirror some of the same recruiting tactics in regards to
player movement.
The connections are obvious and the end game will be that of
the current EPL, in that those with the greatest money, facilities and
infrastructure will continue to dominate the sport with little or more hope for
any “outsiders” to join the party without the perfect storm, ala Leicester City
in 2016 in the EPL or Cincinnati making the CFP in 2021. That is not to say that there will not be
entertainment or drama in both leagues.
There have been many recent final weeks in the college football season
that place teams and fan bases in a frenzy to see if their team will have a
“shot” at the championship, and who can forget the fantastic finish of the 2012
EPL season, when the sound of “Agueeeeroooooo” rang across the country as City
literally stole the title from United on the final shot and second of the
season. Much of the fanatic fervor in
the college football is between the two to three teams that are vying for the 4th
spot in the CFP as their fight to win and building the resume to an
anti-climactic results as they usually are destroyed by the top seeded team in
the tournament. In the eight years of
the CFP, only the 2015 game between Alabama and Ohio State was within a one score
result.
The signs are eerily parallel and the writing appears to be
on the wall. Both sports will still be
watched, cheered for and bring in tons of money for individuals and companies
that already make billions of money. It
is not as if the product will be watered down, but fans will have to come a
realization that certain supports of clubs or teams will never be able to
compete for the top prize, and that has to be OK. If the money able to be spent in these two
leagues will continue to be limitless, ironically, it will put limits on those
who have the ability to be crowned a champion.
One way to solve the issue with college football is for the top 40 to 50
teams to break off into its own separate league using their own governing body
which regulates and establishes balanced scheduling, a salary cap and roster
management limits to have a “level-playing field.” This concept has been tossed around by a few
football analysts and seems to be the most logical way to ensure the product
has both equity and entertainment for both TV audiences and fans alike. The EPL is a professional league, and its
ability to make money on top of money within a business and corporate structure
is quite logical and acceptable, but the unorthodox mix and match rules and lack
of regulations that continues to permeate college football is a system that
will only fail in that its regional bias will continue to stay in the
southeastern part of the country and lose more and more viewers across the
states. A true tiered division model
with the ability to even add an EPL rule of relegation and promotion to entice
competitiveness and interest across the entire college football season. Currently, when a team loses at minimum of
two games within the first month of the season the quest for the title is
usually over – possibly a conference title may still be in play – but with the
possible fear of being kicked out of the top division and losing a large amount
of money, and possibly recruiting spots could make watching the final weeks of
the season quite captivating.
College football is not broken. Things change and it will not be as it was 20
or even 30 years ago. And that is ok,
but it does need to take a look at itself.
What is the message the sport wants to send to its schools, donors,
players and fans? The haves will always
have more than the have nots, but it is moving towards more of the EPL model of
one percenters, and the rest. It is no
one’s fault, it is evolution, rabid fan bases and donors who want to win and an
insatiable palate of TV executives who want to own the second biggest sport in
America and pay top dollar for it. There
is zero chance of turning back and everything needs to be on the table – the
model that held true for over 50 years, since true integration of the sport and
TV broadcast rights started to put certain brands on the national scope. The more that the current powers that be
continue to allow large amounts of money, conference and player movement and
unfiltered deals for incoming high school players, the sport will just collapse
in on itself in the same way that only a handful of teams can win the EPL, it
will be a more drastic reality only 3 to maybe 4 teams will be able to win a
college football title – more so than it is today.
References
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