1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Erick Strickland and his thoughts on NIL: April 29th, 10:25am

Episode Date: April 29, 2022

You were technically a walk on for the Huskers, right?NIL has always been a thing, it was just in secret before nowAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back to one-on-one with DP. Presented by Beatrice Bakeray on 93-7 The Ticket and the Ticketfm.com. One-on-one. Got a Hall of Famer in the room. He's going to stay one more segment. And he just appreciate Eric Strickley, Husker, Basketball Hall of Famer. I want to talk to you about some real lifestyle. Because this is craziness to me that we have lost focus.

We have lost focus. You were a walk-on at the University of Nebraska. Is that a statement of truth? Yeah. In essence, yes. Right? Why? Because I played baseball.

And my amateur status was retained in all other sports. except baseball. So I couldn't come here and play for the Nebraska Cornucca baseball team. That eliminated. So in essence, the Marlins, in their bonus to me, also part of my signing bonus

was that they would take care of my school. So in essence, I paid for myself because it was part of, you know, the deal that I had professionally. But yet it was as if I was, as if I, was on a scholarship. So imagine this, that at that time,

you also would have been able to be in business in full. Yeah, yeah. And for a guy who goes out, wins the Big 12 championship in basketball. Big eight. Big eight, sorry. You walk out. We don't associate.

Then you walk out, then you walk out, and you go to football practice. You put the pads on. You get a taste of it, right? You already had the legend that was your high school career. Like, there's a legacy involved in that. Okay. Right?

You were known. Respected. Thought well of. I would imagine that the boosters thought highly the fact that you would play basketball while not taking a scholarship. I mean, and that's pretty cool because actually I was an ambassador for the university. So I would travel and meet all the boosters. and all the Presidents of banks and all that stuff.

So yeah. So a couple of things. Are we UIL talking? Yeah, yeah, we are. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or NIL. I'm sorry, not UIL. No, no, no, no, the way people doing it is UIL.

Oh, okay. But the business that is taking place now under the umbrella of NIL has always taken. in place. Those meetings, those handshakes, those envelopes, those bags have always happened. You don't have to speak. I'm not asking you to speak of you. I'm not asking you to see it.

I'm not asking you to see of you. Nebraska has been the cleanest program I've ever been associated with. I don't know nothing about that. What are you doing right now? It's the cleanest program in the nation by far. No, this is what I'm talking about. Bags don't exist in the state of Nebraska. That part.

Okay, no, take us there. Take us there. I'm laughing at both of y'all. Right now. So business, the business of sport has always been there. The rules and guidelines have always been there. Yeah. Like back in the 90s, they would tell you the business that you could do

and the business that you could not do. That's no different than it is now. What's supposed to happen now is, transparency, tracking, statements out loud. I would imagine that if you walked into college athletics right now, you would have an advantage being from the state, being an all-state performer in several sports, having all of the tape and news accolades that you could have,

that you could do business. And that there were people that would find doing business with you, interesting and appeal it. I would venture to say I could see that. I could understand that. So why would people not want you to be able to do business in full?

I mean, I'll look at it from this standpoint. It would be no different for me than I think I can, this is the way I'll try to bring it down in layman's terms. There is a lot of great Hall of Fame,

tremendous NBA players that have paved the way for the NBA to become what it is and what it has become today. Those NBA players had to fly on regular flights, wake up at two, three in the morning, after playing a game and getting finished and getting showered, getting out, maybe hanging out, maybe doing what they do while they're out, and get on a plane early in the morning, go to the next city and play another game and do the same thing. all over again on a seven-day road trip, whereas now we get on a charter flight right after the game.

Get in late. Full menu. They used to roommate. Custom food. We now custom food, bring it to you. Get per dim. Per damn, dang near was trick-off money. 240?

Shoot. We used to just stack them things. It was like 90 when I was in. Oh, you got it now. I was cheat. See what I'm saying? Right. So that's where I'm going.

You see where I'm going? Yep. So for me, I had to literally tell my mom, mom, if you would have just waited about 10 years, you and dad, just about 10 years, we'd be about 60 to 80 million right now. So I say that to say, there could be a lot of hatred about it.

There could be a lot of envy, animosity, especially even from even the old players that have been here that have put the banners and put the Sears Trophies in them doggone thing to say, good gosh, and these cats are able to get pizza, go out, eat steak, do all that stuff that we couldn't do. So I can venture to say I can understand that, especially from a regular student, previous students, where there could be a little bit of animosity about that.

But then we would say, so with the contract, the LeBron contract, contracts, the John Morant contracts, the Patrick Mahomes contract with ownership of the baseball team. Right, which was different than Lynn Dawson who won. Right. Right. Who won a Super Bowl. That that is the natural progression of things. And this is just the natural progression of things. Right.

Like today's NBA rookies will make more in their original contract than Julius Irvin made in his entire. career. That's the way it works. That current Husker players will play in front of a crowd twice the size of those back in the day of people who just played for nickels and dives. Let me throw something at you real quick. The money went a little bit longer. So is it really that you're making more or is it that you're just getting more and

it's still not worth as much? So I'm just, I'm just throwing out there because it was like 99 cent gas back then. Right, but you also kept your money because you didn't know more money was coming. Yeah, facts. Right? The phrase, I remember my grandfather always talking about that he would take a lesser job if it was a more steady job. So the whole point of steady work was an Americanism. It was a thing that you did.

That's not the case now. Yeah. Now, large volume, people are making million. of dollars for not doing anything in particular. Right. And people get mad about it. Within college athletics, we have to pay respect to the fact that business is now being done.

It's just being done in the open. And for all the business is done in the open, there's more private business being done. Right. Like, I'm okay with my thing is I hope. Here's my hope. That people allow student, athletes to not be poor.

Like it? I don't know why so many people want college athletes poor. I don't know what I'm saying why you want anybody poor. So every time there's an opportunity for people change their location, elevation in life. Generationally, I cheer for it. I cheer for it. And that's what's happening.

When you have million-dollar coaches and millionaire boosters and millionaire administrators have the opportunity to go to poor disenfranchised communities, pull talent from those communities, and then still ask them not to be functionally economically settled. It's a weird process to me. It's a weird thinking. It's a weird thing. I agree.

So I just want to say, before you jump on the NIA, it's making things bad. No, no, no. It's been what it's always been. I think it has been unequal. I think the process has been unequal, big business of the NCAA. Like even right now, what is the relevancy of the NCAA right now? Be honest.

It's trying to figure out. Because what are you doing? It's trying to figure it out. Why are you paying $3 million to the head of NCAA right now? Well, there was some talk to that the NCAA will be gone in three years. What's the relevancy? Right? And there are people who are scrambling.

people who have always made money because of it, who could lose those jobs. And nothing moves people like the fear of losing your high-paying job. Like this is what's happening here. And it happens within the programs within the NCAA. Right? You got new leadership coming. Hopefully, you know, folks have said maybe Gavitt is the guy to take over for Emmert

because of what he's done with March Madness and such. We'll see. We'll see. But I think it's fantastic that, through it all on a day like today, day two of the NFL draft, there are players who have been a part of the NIL process, who will now get a chance to make, they've made the decision,

they want to go pro, be a professional, they want to go to the next level, that today will answer some questions about the Nebraska program. It'd be nice to hear some Huskers names called today. Early. We'll accept tomorrow, but it'd be really cool. Just remember the buzz that happened

when Delano Banton went in the second round of the NBA draft and how it felt from the Nebraska basketball program. Multiply that by four if you can get some of these guys taking the day. It's a big day because it'll change the way business will be done.

And then tomorrow's a huge day. Look, we can, we've talked about it at end. But O'Shawn Mathis' decision tomorrow, will bring so many different discussions next week. Because if it works, it sets a new standard. If it doesn't work, it also sets a new standard. So. Either way, a new standard.

Right. A new way of doing business. All compliments of a young man from Texas. So there's that. We'll throw the break. We'll close out. one-on-one and hand it over to the captain for Sean Jackson will take us from 11 to 2 here on 93-7 the ticket.

Watch live on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitch. You're listening to one-on-one with DP on 937 the ticket and the ticketfm.com.