02x08 - Episode 8

[bunniefuu]

♪ ♪

He would go over and sh**t

This ball tell your mama I'm

About to win this game.

Bomani: I give you credit

You would have given him props

Come it took most black people

Until the 21st century to come

Around and say he was pretty

Good to.

He was more than good, he had

A jerry curl, he could jump like

A black man.

He jumped like?

Like karl malone-- that's

Good enough!

Bomani: we like larry bird

A lot more than we like karl

Malone!

Believe that!

♪ ♪

[Cheers and applause]

Bomani: welcome to "game

Theory"!

Shout out to mike hit man, but

New york city I don't know if

You heard but we are about to

Have a new freethinker in town.

Aaron rodgers telling pat

Mcafee that he intends to play

This coming season and he

Intends to play for the new york

Jets.

You know, I think since

Friday, I made it clear that my

Intention was to play and my

Intention was to play for the

New york jets.

Okay.

I want to play and I would

Like to play in new york.

It's just a matter of, you know,

Getting that done at this point.

Bomani: fun fact.

Aaron rodgers has

Spent more time on pat mcafee's

Podcast than in the playoffs.

But, hey!

A good quarterback in new york!

Jets fans don't know what to do

With all this hope!

They're like

Black people before the oscars.

Or the grammys.

Or the tonys, probably.

I don't really know what goes on

Over there.

But here's what aaron rodgers

Has to understand, and what he's

Going to understand realllll

Quick: hope comes with

Expectations.

The expectation to win.

Back in green bay, rodgers could

Get off to a bad start and the

Packers fans would give him some

Leeway.

He and the packers franchise

Earned their fans trust.

But we are talking about the

Jets.

The last time they went to the

Super bowl was literally before

We landed on the moon.

Allegedly.

[Laughter]

Jets fans are excited now,

But if we see a one and three

Record to start the season, I

Recommend aaron rodgers not tell

Them to relax.

Trust me: they will not.

One thing I do know for sure

Though?

Aaron rodgers is going to love

New york.

Not just the fact that he looks

Like he belongs inside a

Bushwick warehouse party.

But the fact that this is

Conspiracy theory mecca.

He gonna visit one world trade

On his first day in the city

Talking about "j-e-t fuel can't

Melt steel beams."

[Laughter]

[Applause]

And you know he's gonna have

Some 5 percenters join him

Outside metlife stadium.

He and allah the father agree on

A little bit more than you might

Think.

It's a perfect deal.

He gets his crackpot theories.

Jets fans get a legitimate

Reason to complain if rodgers

Fails and the team sucks.

It's the toxic couple we never

Asked for.

Moving on, number one seed

Alabama played their first game

Of the ncaa tournament

Thursday.

And their star brandon miller

Scored zero points.

But that's not the biggest story

Here.

A high profile m*rder cases

Casting a

Cloud over alabama's crimson

Tide as march madness is

Beginning.

The team is facing questions

That for its star player,

Brandon miller, was linked in

Court to the fatal sh**ting of

23-Year old jamea harris.

In february, a tuscaloosa

Police investigator testified

That former alabama player

Darius miles texted miller to

Bring him his g*n.

Miles was indicted on capital

m*rder charges, but miller has

Not been charged with any crime.

Bomani: there is no joke's

On this one because there is

Nothing about.

It is a terrible look for the

Ncaa tournament that miller is

The biggest name in march

Madness, not for his abilities

On the court, but because his

Name is involved in a m*rder

Case.

The real question we need to ask

Is: why is brandon miller in

This tournament in the first

Place?

I'm not talking about

Whether or not he should be

Allowed to play.

I am asking why he is playing.

What of this tournament could

Possibly be so important that

Brandon miller goes through it,

That the family of the victim

Goes through whatever comes with

Watching, that we as viewers

Watch the announcers do

Backflips trying to figure out

How to talk about it, and we try

To figure out how we feel

Watching this on the stage of

What is one of america's most

Beloved sporting institutions.

The only answer is money for the

People that profit off the

Tournament and need miller to

Play.

He, his teammates, the victim,

The victim's family, they're all

Being exploited for views and

Numbers and bottom lines that

Are indifferent to anyone's

Emotions involved.

Look, I have no idea whether or

Not the ncaa or alabama should

Punish brandon miller.

The police and his lawyers agree

That he has not broken the law.

I just don't know why he wants

To play.

If I found out that I had been

Involved in someone ending up

Dead?

I'd probably have a lot on

My mind.

And then if after that, I came

Back to play basketball, and I

Received so many threats that I

Needed an armed guard at the

Games with me?

It might be a little bit much.

And then add onto this that we

Are expected to win the national

Championship?

It might be better for me to be

At home.

I got no idea what we should be

Doing.

But I can tell you that there is

An incredible amount of pressure

On that young man from outside

Sources to play basketball right

Now and it does not sit right

With me.

And after he scored zero points,

Something tells me it might not

Feel right to him either.

Who do you think the worst

Athlete to get really high is?

Aaron rodgers, no question.

Once you start talking I can't

Leave.

With those eyes.

You crazy.

Somebody turn the music up.

I'm going to go with somebody

Like jonathan isaac.

Yes.

You get high with jonathan

Isaac on the magic, he's going

To break out some scripture on

You, he might tell you his ideas

About january 6th, he might hit

You with all types of

Conspiracies.

Bomani: that was a deep cut

But you nailed it.

[Cheers and applause]

Bomani: my guest tonight is a

Host and commentator for

Bleacher report and turner

Sports known for getting big

Name athletes to bare their

Souls in interviews.

Now it's her turn.

Give it up for taylor rooks!

[Cheers and applause]

I want to start with you getting

The people bear their souls

People don't know this I've had

Her on my podcast and I started

Off trying to interview her

Until the third question when

You start interviewing other

Person every time, that's you.

I am genuinely interested in

The thoughts that people have

And I don't think we always give

People space to view themselves

And share that perspective with

Us so I get a lot of joy in

Being that vehicle for people to

At least understand a little bit

Better than they did initially.

I think the people on the

Podcast they want to know more

About bomani, don't you want to

Know more?

I see how you do it.

I want to ask about one

Interview you did with john

Moran's, I think the interview

Was in 2021.

He talked to you about the

Effect of the bubble and the

Tone that took with a whole

Different resonance with the

Things that happened to him.

You were in the bubble, you did

Something with "gq" for that.

What do you think that did to

Some of those players?

What effect did it have on him

Down the line?

There were a number of

Players that had a different

Experience in the bubble and

It's important when we talk

About that time in nba culture

That we understand it wasn't

Monolithic and I think for him

Specifically, he discusses in

That clip, it isn't what he was

Used to.

Ja became so big and so famous

And so important to so many fans

Overnight and he gets into this

Place where it's just him and we

All know when it's just you it's

Easy to get into your head and

Overthink things and over

Analyze things in a way that can

Be detrimental to your mental

Health and also your overall

Perspective.

I think he dealt with that.

How can I get away from me?

Bomani: a few years ago

Adam silver said something I

Thought was interesting, in his

Conversations with his players

He felt like they were generally

Unhappy.

You have a different access to a

Lot of guys in the league.

From the outside, it looks hard

To be unhappy living that life!

Do you feel when you hear

Something like that from the

Commissioner that lines up with

What you see?

Every single human has

Moments where they feel like

They aren't happy with their

Circumstance but I think for nba

Players, they are in a space

Where everybody wants him to be

Happy all of the time.

Forcing yourself to be happy all

Of the time can really weigh on

You.

Him I was just interviewing bam

Adebayo and he was like now I

Memeditate and I didn't realize

All this stuff that was inside

Of me that I had to learn and

Wrangle and how to figure out.

We say words like mental health

And people think that just means

Going to talk to somebody and

Having therapy but for bam, it

Was meditation.

I remember interviewing jimmy

Butler asking if he was going to

Try therapy and he said no but I

Journal.

Bomani: I would love to

Read his journals.

Crazy invasion privacy, but I

Want to know what you write down

Of the end of the night.

Besides jimmy butler, what

Nba player would you love us

Either journal?

I want to read jokic's

Journal-- I might be nervous of

What he said, I love the idea of

Imagining somebody's impression

Of america, if you learned about

America through the nba.

Jokic is so funny too, I

Interviewed him all-star weekend

And I was like you don't really

Get to up or down about

Basketball all of this stuff

Doesn't seem to make you excited

To.

He says he yeah, the only thing

That makes me excited is horse

Racing.

[Laughter]

And we sat there and we talked

About the horses he owns and

Races around the world and he's

Like I could talk about this

Forever.

Bomani: he had been waiting

Eight years for somebody to sit

Down and talk with him about

Horses.

Damian lillard sits on the about

To ring culture in the nba and

He says he feels like it's gone

Too far and people care too much

About that, what do you think?

I think what he said has soe

Truth I interviewed him four

Years ago, everybody wants to be

A champion.

But in nba champion is something

Different.

I think he has an idea of the

Things for him that equal

Success and he has done those

Things.

I think he's happy and content

With that.

Bomani: I'm torn on this

Discussion-- on the one hand he

Is right, the fact that portland

Has not won is not because of

Damian lillard all of these

Things that's 100% correct and

The only person who has ever

Said rings don't matter as

Somebody who doesn't have rings.

Everyone who is making that

Point to you-- bill russell's

Isn't coming out saying 8-11-5,

What's the difference, I'm a

Champion at life!

What they will tell you is

How much harder winning that

Ring was then what they

Originally thought.

We really underestimate what

Role circumstance and situation

Play in being able to win a rin

Ring.

Seven time nba all-star,

First-team, future hall of famer

In his rookie year, you look at

That and say this is somebody

Who had a very successful nba

Career.

Not having that one thing on the

Checklist can't mean that we

Don't talk about--

Bomani: you hear that james

Harden, here that russell

Westbrook?

Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me!

[Cheers and applause]

Bomani: would you care if

Your boss did not pay you but

Somebody else did?

As long as I'm getting paid I

Don't care where it's coming

From.

Bomani: you don't care

Where the money comes from?

Any random guy gives me the

Same amount of money, that's

Okay.

Bomani: not the same amount

Of money because her boss isn't

Giving you nothing.

My boss is not paying me?

Bomani: her boss is not

Paying you.

It would be like if you worked

At walmart but target send you

Money on cash app every week.

It's all good.

I'm getting paid to.

Bomani: what happens if

Happens if all of a sudden

Walmart is like target isn't

Allowed to pay you any more?

Somebody's going to pay me.

Bomani: if you're thinking

This sounds shady you are

Correct.

I barely work now, I'll take

Whatever I can get.

Bomani: you barely work or

Barely get paid?

They go hand-in-hand.

Bomani: let me stop before

This gets dark.

We're going to talk about how

Blisters use ncaa rules to

Funnel money to college

Athletes?

Everybody else getting paid

I'm glad they are finally

Getting their money.

Bomani: shouldn't the

Schools have to pay them?

I think of the players got

Paid we wouldn't be able to

Eliminate the boosters.

Bomani: if you legalize

Prostitution you don't have any

Need for the pimp.

At sounds like--

Bomani: you're not terribly

Wrong.

A booster as somebody donates

Money to an athletic department.

So they can hang out with

Them and feel cool, everybody is

A tool.

[Laughter]

[Applause]

Bomani: you want to know

What I miss?

Back in the day, we knew college

Athletes were getting paid, but

We didn't always know how.

That's what made it fun.

Like in the 80s, when eric

Dickerson's mama rolled up to

Smu with a new trans-am, the

Tesla of the 80s.

Everybody just looked the other

Way.

But if only dickerson was

Playing now.

'Cause everywhere you look it

Seems like college athletes are

Riding clean...

And legal.

Ou quarterback spencer

Rattler posed with two vehicles

He will have this season free

After

Signing an name image and

Likeness deal with a local

Dealership.

Now bryce young posted this

Message on his instagram.

He has linked up with bmw of

Tuscaloosa for an nil deal.

Texas running back bijon

Robinson now has a name, image,

And likeness deal with

Lamborghini.

Bomani: he might get the car

For free, but the insurance will

Still be $1.2 million dollars a

Month.

You tell me who's covering that.

All this

Flossing is brought to you by

Something called "nil deals."

Name, image, and likeness.

These deals are the result of a

2021 Supreme court ruling that

Basically

Forced the ncaa to allow

Athletes to profit through

Endorsement deals.

The courts' decision here was

Unanimous.

Do you know how hard it is to

Get a 9-0 decision from that

Court?

You know you're moving funny

If clarence thomas is like,

"They're doing these black

People wrong."

[Laughter]

Even brett kavanaugh ripped them

A new one!

The first time he's ever said

Stop taking advantage of college

Students.

Indeed-- that slow burn.

[Laughter]

[Applause]

This seems like a

Huge victory for college

Athletes who have traditionally

Been cut out of any form of

Financial compensation for their

Work.

Buuuuut here's the thing-- the

Ncaa and colleges are not the

Ones paying these players.

Last summer, reform was

Imposed on college sports when

Several state legislatures

Passed laws giving their

Athletes name, image, and

Likeness rights just as the

Supreme court dealt another blow

To the ncaa control, ruling

They'd violated anti trust law.

The ncaa, once they lost that

Case, went all right, you guys

Figure it out.

Bomani: "you guys figure it

Out"?

Ncaa sounding like they're in

Charge of a national pandemic

Response.

Even though the ncaa lost on the

Nil front, they still call the

Players student-athletes,

Instead of what they

Really are.

Employees.

And if you're not an employee,

The ncaa don't have to pay you.

But some college athletes are

Getting money.

Through the largely unregulated

Nil economy.

There are two main places where

Athletes can receive these

Deals.

The first is through

Marketplace collectives.

Essentially, agents who connect

Players with businesses that

Wanna use them for advertising.

And you end up getting a lot of

This:

I'm so glad we called sos.

Our ac is the coldest.

I'm always decoldest.

Sos to the rescue.

♪ ♪

Quinn, let's get this thing

Going.

This has got to get delivered.

You're gonna get a delay of

Game, man.

All right.

With the new changes in ncaa,

I thought it was time to get

Some help around here.

Who better than josh paschal?

Bomani: somewhere there's

An unemployed juilliard grad

Saying ain't this a b*tch?

The other channel through which

Athletes are making cash is a

Little shadier.

They're called donor

Collectives.

Basically a way for boosters to

Funnel money to athletes.

One

Thing that hasn't changed under

Nil is the ncaa still prohibits

Boosters or anyone else from

Outside the university getting

Involved in the recruitment of

Any prospective athlete.

That would be an "improper

Inducement" to get players to go

To a certain school.

The rationale behind this is to

Maintain competitive balance.

God knows we don't want a world

Where all the best players go to

Alabama and georgia now do we!

But the ncaa is essentially

Allowing donor collectives to

Pay prospective athletes under

The guise of marketing

Opportunities.

And a booster collective at the

University of florida took this

Nil stuff to a whole 'nother

Level.

Lots of people are wondering,

What's gator collective?

It's a team of talented

Athletes and passionate fans.

It's the playbook for our nil

Success.

To earn compensation for our

Name, image, and likeness.

It's exclusive access to

Unforgettable moments.

Bomani: first of all, the

Gator collective sounds like a

Pimp's shoe brand.

Second of all,

Who the hell is that little kid?

I can't tell if that's a

Commercial or a reboot of the

Blind side.

[Laughter]

The gator collective is a prime

Example of how ridiculous the

Nil marketplace is.

Especially in the case of prized

Recruit jaden rashada.

And whew, you're not gonna

Believe this one.

Florida quarterback recruit

Jaden rashada requested a

Release from his national letter

Of intent tuesday night after a

13 Million dollar name image and

Likeness deal reportedly fell

Through.

The school is likely to

Distance itself from the gator

Collective because they

Basically tried to make a deal

That they couldn't come through

On.

Bomani: you heard that

Right.

Jaden rashada thought

He was getting 13 million

Dollars and proof, it was gone.

And you'd have thought he

Would've had to do a lot to get

This money.

Nope.

All the gator collective asked

Him to do was post on twitter

And instagram once a month, and

Hold eight fan meet and

Greets.

And sign 15 autographs per year.

That's all he would have had to

Do to get 13 million dollars!

That's like paying a stripper to

Take off her week.

And when the gator collective

Pulled out of the deal, rashada

Left florida and committed to

Arizona state, where his new nil

Valuation is around $400k.

Which is a lot of money for a

19- Year-old if you were never

Promised 13 million dollars!

It's crazy that he could have

Gotten that much cash for doing

So little.

And even crazier that it could

Just disappear.

Because basically no one is

Regulating this.

Certainly not the ncaa.

But not everyone is getting

Burned by nil deals gone awry.

It actually seems to be working

Just fine for some kids.

A select group of names you may

Already know.

The texas longhorns paid a

Pretty penny to get peyton and

Eli's nephew to play for them.

According to the athletic, texas

Shelled out upwards of $280,000

To recruit arch manning.

Arch manning has an on3 nil

Evaluation of 3.4 million

Dollars.

That puts him at number 2 in the

Nil 100 just behind bronny

James.

Both bronny and bryce have

Signed nil deals with rich

Paul's klutch sports group.

I tip my hat to you.

Great fathers.

Let's go.

Bomani: up next, freekey

Zekey with the traffic report.

But back to nepotism, image, and

Likeness.

Kids like arch and bronny...

They might be good athletes, but

They don't have to be.

'Cause it's not about who's the

Best, it's about who's the most

Marketable.

You know, the jack harlow

Formula.

[Laughter]

And the children of famous

Athletes inherently have a leg

Up because their names are

Already known.

Bronny james, arch manning,

Deion sanders' son shedeur,

Marvin harrison jr, and bronny's

Little brother bryce, have 5 of

The top 17 nil valuations.

Having a recognizable name makes

You far more valuable in the

World of nil deals.

Whether that name comes from

Being born to lebron james or

From having a poppin' social

Media presence.

Like lsu gymnast olivia dunne.

Your kids might know her from

Tiktok or instagram as livvy.

Her real name is olivia dunne,

She has over 10 million

Followers across her social

Media platforms.

This influencer status has also

Gotten her sponsorships, become

One of the highest paid athletes

In the country.

Bomani: she's flipping all

The way to the bank!

- On3.
- Com puts her nil valuation

At $3.4 million.

And though she was named an all

American, that figure has less

To do with her athletic

Performance than you'd think.

'Cause she's not even the top

Gymnast on her team.

Her teammates, kiya johnson and

Haleigh bryant, are more

Decorated gymnasts than dunne.

[Applause]

And together, they earn less

Than 2% of what she makes from

Nil.

So what sets livvy apart? Gross

Young men on the internet love

Her.

Dunne's content is a mix,

Dance videos, behind the scenes

With the team, and images like

These, which are not that

Different from some of the most

Popular influencers.

Dunne says it sometimes

Generates threatening comments.

Are there people who are

Reaching out in a way that is

Scary?

Yeah there are some people

Occasionally that do reach out

And it is a bit concerning.

Livvy!

We want livvy!

Bomani: that many white

Dudes chanting makes me nervous

Too.

Bottom line,

Popularity trumps performance.

Which is why the biggest

Beneficiaries of the nil system

Are 5 star recruits, athletes

With famous last names, or

Players with massive social

Followings

But for the 95% of collegiate

Athletes that don't fall into

Those categories?

You're probably not going to get

Paid.

Inflcr says the average deal

Size for most athletes is around

$1100.

You see a handful of

Athletes actually make 6 and 7

Figures pretty fast, but then

You see thousands of athletes do

$20 T-shirt deals with barstool.

Bomani: $20?

So that's like a week's worth of

Ramen noodles?

The fact is:

Most ncaa athletes aren't

Getting anything from nil.

We want to feel good about the

Nil system so we don't have to

Think about these athletes being

Exploited.

But how can you feel good when

You see how little the majority

Of these kids are making?

Most

Of these players get nil deals

Through a platform called

Opendorse.

It's like a dating app except

There's no sex and you can

Actually confirm the dudes'

Heights.

For $5, stefan dobrijevic, a

Soccer player at the university

Of akron, will record you a

Personalized video shoutout.

Or for $15, he'll come to your

Event or practice.

Or for the low low price of $1,

You can pitch him on anything.

Hope he likes refreshing

Ticketmaster!

If it's not obvious

By now: the whole game is rigged

Against athletes.

Even nil.

'Cause even this, a battle the

Ncaa lost, is still a beneficial

Distraction from their poor

Labor practices.

As long as we're focused on nil

Deals, we forget that we

Wouldn't even need them if the

Ncaa and schools just called

These athletes employees.

[Applause]

But that would actually mess up

The ncaa and the schools' money.

Converting student athletes

Or having them change from an

Employee-employer relationship

Fundamentally blows up college

Sports

Passing an nil bill at the

Congressional level is critical

To moving forward in part

Because we want to get this done

And we want to do it and not be

Then immediately sued for having

Done the right thing in this

Case.

Bomani: as long as these

Athletes are students rather

Than workers, the ncaa doesn't

Gotta pay!

And that must change.

But the ncaa's real afraid of

Athletes being called

Employees.

You see, a student

Union is a place to watch movies

Or flunk out of school playing

Air hockey.

An employee union will shut your

sh*t down.

[Applause]

Point is-- these athletes

Should not have to be popular to

Get paid.

They should get paid because

They generate billions of

Dollars for the ncaa and their

Respective schools.

And until they do get paid,

You'll have more stories like

Jaden rashada, more donor

Collectives engaging in

Shenanigans to get recruits,

More bijan robinsons getting

Lamborghinis, all while 95% of

College athletes get almost

Nothing.

The ncaa and colleges are

Fighting to uphold a massive

Industry that is dependent on

Free labor.

It's time to pay what you owe.

[Applause]

[Cheers and applause]

That's our show!

I'm gonna go buy a lambo because

A kid told me to!

Goodnight!

[Cheers and applause]

If you could be a paid

Spokesperson for any brand or

Product what would it be?

Something simple like water.

Everybody needed to.

Adderall?

If you hang out with me more

Than 5 minutes she needs it,

Throw it at her l tic tac's.

Bomani: they seem to be

Selling that like hot cakes.

The cowboys.

Bomani: the dallas cowboys?

Ladies and gentlemen, get

These cowboys products I got it

Right here, america's team, god

Loves america's team.

Two ply toilet paper.

The little things that you

Really don't realize you need in

The moment.

Bomani: I love that you

Specify to apply.

I know some things about how

Tough your life has been because