What is the relationship between the PGA Tour and the PIF, LIV Golf? What does it have to do with college football?

The 2023 college football campaign is just 10 weeks away. In July, conferences will hold their summer meetings and players will arrive in six weeks. Why write a column about college football when there is nothing happening? What is happening on the professional sports stage is a sign of what’s to come in college football. Warnings are everywhere. The difference between amateur and professional sports is almost nonexistent, and college athletics are under greater threat than ever before.

How did we arrive here?

Start with the PGA Tour. This is the association that represents professional golfers. By now, you know that LIV Golf is part of the $600billion Saudi Public Investment Fund, and its spokesperson, Greg Norman, (who receives $100 million from LIV), recruits the top golfers to play in various tournaments. They are guaranteed tens or even hundreds of millions just for playing. Wining results in massive bonuses. You may be a capitalist who believes that services can be sold at the highest price, but what if that bidder comes from Saudi Arabia? In Saudi Arabia, women are often discriminated against. Human rights violations have been a part of their past. What about Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, a Saudi journalist and dissident who was allegedly murdered by Saudi agents in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in the year 2022? Saudi Arabia has denied involvement in the 9/11 hijackers, but 15 were Saudi Arabians. Is this the country America is looking to do business?

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan clearly didn’t believe that when he referred to the 9/11 victims in order to convince many of his members not accept the “blood money” from LIV and defection. He had stated that the PGA Tour would never merge with LIV Golf. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and other stars of the sport had pledged their loyalty to the Tour and sacrificed hundreds and millions of dollars.

Then the hammer was dropped when , as the two parties argued their case in court, announced a new agreement. Monahan acknowledged that he might be called an hypocrite by his own players . Saudi Arabia never sought to make money from this venture; instead, they wanted legitimacy, access, and acceptance by the establishment. Their goal is to influence and this is the danger. This merger compromises the legitimacy of our golf and our way-of-life. Congress and Justice Department have announced an investigation. You’re going to have a lot of fun with this.

When is enough enough?

Not only that. Soccer is the most popular sport in the entire world. The Saudis are buying European teams and turning them into winners instantly (see Newcastle). At one point, the great Cristiano signed a contract for three years worth $200 million per year to play in Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema chose to opt out of his Real Madrid contract worth $30 million for $150 millions a year in order to play football in Saudi Arabia. Lionel Messi was reportedly offered a $1.5 billion contract over three years by the Saudis. He is the captain of Argentina’s World Cup champion team and widely regarded as the GOAT. He declined the Saudi offer and accepted an estimated $200,000,000 a year to play for Miami FC (Apple and Adidas were the main sponsors). He remains on Saudi Arabia’s payroll as an “ambassador”, earning about $30 million.

What does this all have to do college football?

Everything.

The PGA Tour threw up its white flag, saying it could not compete with the outrageous amounts of money. It decided to cut their losses. Save the debate about whether or not to accept money from Saudi Arabia, or any country that does not share your values, for another discussion. It’s about the divisive effects of big money in sports. How can any league compete with salaries that have risen tenfold if Saudi Arabia decides to start a professional league? Keep in mind the AFL. WHA. ABA. LIV Golf wants to spread its influence, and have a legit world stage and audience in order to advance its agenda.

College football is the most vulnerable sport in America (college basketball is also included). Facebook, Twitter, Google and other entities are all possible. Foreign or not, top players could be compensated to form relationships that advance their interests. Nike, Adidas and other companies, such as FOX, ESPN and FOX, already do this. We just haven’t seen it as a serious threat. College football is the most vulnerable, because there’s no collective bargaining contract. There are no restrictions on how much a third party can pay an athlete. Some players earn between $1 million and $3 million.

What if Saudi Arabia decided to pay its top players more than $10 million per year using its unlimited resources? Is this realistic? We can only hope it’s not.

On Wednesday, a group from the SEC including Alabama’s Nick Saban arrived in Washington, D.C. to speak to members of Congress on the importance of regulating compensation under NIL. Congress is unlikely to act anytime soon. The NCAA? Fuhgeddaboudit. There is only one viable solution: unionize the players, and negotiate a CBA which addresses NIL while limiting the influence of outside influences. A salary cap is a good idea. There’s no alternative to saving the competitive balance of the game. Declare all college football players professionals and stop the absurd belief that they are amateur athletes.

Without drastic changes, we will continue to exploit young men who are highly impressionable. If not, then the assets, capital, support, and resources (all code words that mean money) of both domestic and foreign companies can impact college players to set up an agenda for manipulating the innocent and spreading influence.

This is the world in which we live.

Ken Schreiber writes a college-football column for The Providence Journal. This article was originally published in the Providence Journal of the USA Today Network. )