Sign Here, So That We Might Own You

SI's Seth Davis, whom we always enjoy, brings up a point we've been wondering about for a while: Why in the world would anyone in the real world sign one of those letters of intent they make new college basketball recruits sign.

Seriously: If it were a contract in any other field of business, no one would dare sign it.

How many of those prospects even know the NLI is completely voluntary? Or that it is unfairly tilted in favor of the schools? And get this: The NLI program is not even run by the NCAA. It is instead run by the Collegiate Commissioners Association. Last month, the NCAA's Eligibility Center accepted the responsibility to administer the NLI but, as NCAA president Myles Brand told me, "We're just there to reconcile the books. We send out the letters, we collect the information and we turn it over to the schools. So we're doing the paperwork, we're not running it."

Yes: It's not enough that we're not paying you. You now have to commit yourself to this university for four-plus years, even if your coach leaves or you're stuck on the bench, and if you want out of this contract, you will pay a serious price. But us? The college? Oh, we can drop you any time we'd like. Now, get out there and run some sprints.

To Sign Or Not To Sign [SI.com]