Continuing the Discussion About Wrestler Commodification

 OPTION II

Every D1 wrestler will be listed on a Wrestler Stock Exchange and given a three- or four-letter abbreviation. For example, Lucas Byrd might be LBY, Patrick McKee could be PMCK, while Carter Starocci would be DIC. A wrestler's stock price would be performance-based because capitalists, like you, would purchase shares in those stocks. 

Would you buy an under-performing stock? 

The University of Iowa and other institutions could also purchase shares in these stocks. In that way, a person, institution or an amalgamation of interests from say, Gardner-Webb, could purchase a controlling interest in DIC and he would then become a Bulldog and have to move to Boiling Springs, North Carolina. This framework would be exciting for fans who could make a killing by short-selling a stock or holding a stock like Nagao (GCHO), which goes through the roof. Of course, there could be a rug pull like at the NCAA tournament with SPL. Buyer beware. 

This would be more transparent than the current NIL situation, and it could be monitored by the SEC. It would provide the best approximation of an athlete's worth because that worth had been judged by infallible market forces. 

I submit that this system would be fair and equitable and not a dangerous ponzi scheme like crypto. 

Seriously, though, there always must be a line. The universal question is this: Where to draw the line, and why isn't "The Gopher Choker" the perfect nickname? In the before times, the rules were so restrictive, it was basically indentured servitude, almost slavery. On the other end of the spectrum is a world without rules, and that leads to chaos and anarchy. 

Should students be indentured to universities, or should they have the right to leave for any reason at any time even if that reason is just to avoid a killer nickname? 

Where do you place the line? 

Unfortunately, my read on the situation is that the NCAA is in the worst possible position to enforce any restriction on athlete movement, even NLI's. They are weak. An actual court case involving an NLI or a transfer would send shock waves through NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. Perhaps, though, in the future, athletes will seek out stable environments because they (or their parents) consciously or subconsciously want that. Places like ILLINOIS. We shall see.