College football will face competition for viewers on the West Coast if one NFL agent has his way.
Don Yee, the founder of Pacific Pro Football and the agent of Tom Brady, secured Adidas as a sponsor for an alternative football league for college-age players, per USA TODAY. The league, which Yee plans to get off the ground in the summer of 2019, will be comprised of four teams in Southern California and will give amateur football players compensation and exposure to NFL scouts, as well as another avenue to develop their game apart from NCAA football.
USA Today’s Jarrett Bell reported that Adidas’ attraction to Yee’s developmental league stemmed from both parties “wanting to see what new models there may be for developing athletes.”
According to the Pacific Pro Football website, “the league’s top priority will be the proper development of the player, on and off the field, using professional protocols.”
The deal comes at an interesting time for the NCAA. The organization has come under fire after bombshell reports regarding the FBI’s investigation into college basketball’s underground revealed widespread corruption. There likely will be many more revelations, shocking or not, to come out of the FBI’s wiretapping investigation, and it could fundamentally alter the landscape of major college athletics.
And Yee might be able to capitalize on that.
