It’s no secret that Joe Rogan is a college football fan. When the UFC commentator is not calling out things that take place in the Octagon, he likes to see what’s going on in the football fields of several national-level colleges as they compete to create history. It is through this college football league that we found legends such as Cameron Newton, Bo Jackson, and Jerry Rice. However, on the backend, not everything was as hunky-dory as it seemed.

Football is a sport that is known for causing major injuries; add to those stringent diets and cost of living, and players find it hard to survive. As a result, the NIL was introduced back in July 2021. With this, the NCAA formally approved athletes to take advantage of their name(N), image(I), and likeness(L). A move that has now been praised by the UFC commentator as he discussed the same with guest Bert Sorin on the latest edition (#2242) of his Joe Rogan Experience.

According to Rogan and Sorin, the NIL is a much-needed breakthrough. Considering the billions of dollars in television revenue that college sports generate, along with marketing opportunities that athletes previously couldn’t take advantage of, the long-standing scholarship model was outdated. The JRE host said, “They should’ve been paying those f***** kids a long time ago. They should retroactively pay all those kids. They were making money off of them—it’s crazy how much money they make.”

NIL also allowed the local dealership owner to gift a star defender a new car in a totally legal manner; such monetization became a small-scale activity in no time. With nothing resembling a salary cap and no oversight over where money comes from, boundaries are being crossed. Speaking to Rogan on the podcast, Bert Sorin revealed, “I have friends who say there are athletes who, when they’re going on recruiting trips, flat-out say, ‘If there’s not a $250,000 signing bonus as part of the deal, I’m not even getting on the plane.’ Imagine that—an 18- or 17-year-old kid saying something that b**lsy.”

Well, it surely looks like the NIL has turned the tide for the players when it comes to the economics. However, the same cannot be said for the ones participating in the Olympics. “You know who else should be doing that? The f***ing Olympics! They should all say ‘F*** you! Pay me… That’s the greatest scam in all of sports.'” Rogan said. The JRE host even felt the need to call it out in a previous edition of his podcast with guest Derek from ‘More Plates, More Dates.’ So what did they say? Let’s find out!

Joe Rogan calls out the ‘exploitation’ of Olympic athletes

The Olympics have been one of sports’ biggest events for over 120 years now. By giving up champions and legends in several sports, it is an athlete’s dream to represent his/her country in the Olympics and win a spot on the podium. However, it seems like the dream is not worth pursuing for several of them. But why? Well, that’s because the Olympics often underpays their athletes to the extent that they’d make a better living doing a different job.

This is something that draws the ire of several supporters of said athletes, one of whom is Joe Rogan. Speaking to Derek Munro on JRE #2239, Rogan exposed the Olympics by saying, ” [It happens] especially [in] something like the Olympics. There’s no money in it. You’re not making any money, which is crazy.” He further added, “It’s pure exploitation. That’s what it is because it’s not like there’s no money. Like, ‘Why are you making all the money?’ ‘Well, these people are noble. They don’t want to get paid.’ ‘No, you’re just not paying them. They don’t even know how much money there was.”

Rather than having a cash prize, the Olympic athletes receive money through sponsors and their governments instead. With over 30 million viewers on average, it is sad to see that the Olympians still remain underpaid despite the federation making major money through hosting the events. What do you think? Should the Olympics also introduce something like the NIL, or would a cash prize be kept for the winners? Let us know in the comments.