by Ernie McCray
I hadn’t been paying too much attention
to these NIL* deals
college athletes have at their disposal,|
how well they’re compensated
for having their name, likeness, and image displayed,
but I was just reading how
some of these jocks
are making millions of dollars
and I say more power
to them
because when I look back on the days
when I played,
as a teenage dad,
I sure could have used some cash.
Now, my classes were paid for
and I pulled in a sum
for not living in a dorm,
but when I wasn’t practicing
or playing in games,
I wasn’t sitting back
smoking cigars
and eating escargot and caviar
as I was holding down more jobs
than the Jamaicans on “In Living Color”:
janitoring, lifeguarding, dish washing, table bussing,
catering, dog walking,
driving a family car for a mortuary
and also answering the phone,
reacting to every sound when I was alone,
spooked to the bone,
and I don’t think I got any sleep
except in class
which makes how I ever graduated
kind of a mystery to me.
And something like a NIL deal
would have been way beyond
what my imagination
could take on.
These modern-day college athletes
are some lucky sons-of-guns.
Born at just the right time.
___
* NIL = name, image, likeness
