Chasing the NIL mirage

The future of youth sports is here and it is a mess.  The question is whether we will keep pretending it is all about opportunity or finally admit it is exploitation dressed up as blind ambition;

Greg Maresca ——Bio and Archives--May 12, 2026

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The Wall Street Journal’s recent dive into Florida’s high school transfer free-for-all should awaken every parent, educator, and legislator. The article reveals not a trend but a full-scale crisis.

It is about a youth sports economy that will mint few stars and leave countless others academically stranded and unprepared for adulthood.

The piece follows 16-year-old football wide receiver, Ah’Mari Stevens circling Miami in a helicopter while a videographer captures the distortion, “Everybody and their mama wants to know where he’s going to play ball next year,” the cameraman says.

A teenager is being marketed like a big-time professional free........

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