在NCAA開放球員NIL（姓名、形象、肖像權）營利後
也對大聯盟選秀造成了影響
MLB teams now face new competition for talent: college programs awash with money
https://reurl.cc/WA1DRL
開頭以今年決定跳過大聯盟選秀的頂尖高卒投手William Schmidt為例
On Day 1 of the 2024 MLB Draft, William Schmidt’s inner circle readied for a sm
all gathering to celebrate what seemed inevitable. A right-handed pitcher out of
Catholic High in Baton Rouge, La., Schmidt was a first-round pick waiting to ha
ppen.
有參加選秀的話，預計是首輪貨
Before family and friends could buckle their seatbelts on their way to the Schmi
dt household, the news broke: Schmidt would bypass the MLB draft, and stay commi
tted to LSU.
但最後他仍依約去讀LSU
Message boards were quick to credit the name, image and likeness (NIL) era of co
llege sports, in which players are paid by school boosters through third-party c
ollectives, as a major reason why Schmidt honored his college commitment.
NIL的興起，被認為是他會選擇去念大學的原因
To Johnson, it wasn’t out of the question that Schmidt could have still landed
at LSU in the pre-NIL era, à la Gerrit Cole and Mark Prior, who also went to co
llege despite being drafted in the first round out of high school. Regardless, t
here is one distinct difference between those cases and this one: Schmidt can, a
nd will, make a lot of money while living out his childhood dream.
當然在以前沒有NIL的時代
還是有可能會放棄第一輪去上大學(例如扣哥)
但William Schmidt跟這些前輩不一樣的地方是
在這同時還是賺不少錢
An SEC recruiting coordinator estimates that Schmidt will make seven figures by
the time he is draft-eligible again in three years. If the past three years serv
e as any indication, he won’t be the only one — and the ramifications of that
new reality are now trickling up, and impacting the draft boards of MLB teams.
預計在他下次選秀前，一樣能透過NIL收到七位數字的收入
NIL has grown exponentially since its advent. Consider LSU baseball in 2023, the
year the Tigers won the national championship. According to a person familiar w
ith the program’s finances, the baseball NIL budget that season was about $1 mi
llion.
NIL的錢錢也是隨時間越來越多
Eventual No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes, an immediate-impact pitching transfer f
rom Air Force at the time, received around $250,000, the source said, to play fo
r LSU.
以 Paul Skenes為例，當初他一開始是念美國空軍學院
LSU是付了他25萬美金，請他轉學過來
而在兩年後，今年天使第三輪選進的左投Ryan Prager
最後他選擇不簽，回去德州農工大學念大三
Ryan Prager, a southpaw ace at Texas A&M, returned for his junior season after h
e did not sign as the Los Angeles Angels’ third-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draf
t. Per a source, Prager’s NIL earnings will be about $500,000, double what Sken
es earned just two years ago.
根據情報指出，他因此透過和學校的NIL的合約收到50萬鎂
是Skenes的兩倍
註:當時的報導是寫遠大於50萬
https://reurl.cc/L5MNbK
It’s worth noting that Texas A&M is considered one of the most lucrative school
s for NIL deals, and it’s possible that could have played a role in this negoti
ation. Rodgers reported Prager’s NIL deal with Texas A&M is “well north of $50
0,000.”
For elite talent, the NIL bonanza has in some cases made the college ranks a mor
e lucrative destination than pro baseball.
對於這些頂級新秀來說，NIL使得大學在某些情況下
成為比直接進職棒更有利可圖的地方
Drafting players used to be more straightforward for MLB teams. A potential sign
ing bonus was discussed with a player’s advisor beforehand.
過去對於MLB球隊來說
選秀球員的過程相對單純得多
在選秀前，球隊會先去接觸想要選的球員
並洽談簽約金
If both parties agreed, the player was drafted and soon thereafter signed for an
agreed-upon sum. If not, the team could pivot to negotiate with the next player
on its board.
如果雙方談成，到時選秀就會選
並依照先前談好的價格簽約
More often than not, a general manager could be sure that a player’s ask would
not change overnight.
畢竟球員應該不太可能突然提高報價
Thanks to NIL, that is no longer the case.
但現在有NIL就不一樣了
“Oftentimes, the NIL is fluid, and [college programs] can increase an offer and
move the goalpost in effect and leave an MLB team with incomplete information a
t the time of negotiation,” Flores said. “…
大學那邊會提高報價來搶
The kids now have a choice because it’s now more apples to apples rather than a
pples to something that’s not close to apples.”
等於小球員是有選擇的
因為現在的進職棒 vs 讀大學
更像是蘋果對蘋果
而不是蘋果對一些根本不像蘋果的東西
MLB front offices are starting to feel the repercussions. Outside of the first r
ound, for which the lowest slot value was $2,971,300 this past summer, SEC progr
ams have the financial firepower to effectively outbid an MLB team even for an e
arly-round pick.
NCAA東南聯盟的學校現在有財力，即使是前段輪次的選手
都能開出超過大聯盟球隊的報價
“There’s 10 teams in our league, roughly, and I don’t want to speak for them
or how they spend their money, but they have the financial means to quote-unquot
e ‘buy a player out of the draft,’ through their NIL,” Georgia head coach Wes
Johnson said.
喬治亞大學總教練Wes Johnson表示他們這聯盟的十間學校
都有能力透過NIL去從MLB選秀中留下球員
Texas A&M star outfielder Jace Laviolette, who turned 21 on Wednesday, wasn’t e
ven eligible for the draft in July — players must be three years removed from h
igh school or 21 years old — but according to an amateur scouting director in t
he South, Laviolette may make up to $750,000 as a junior this school year.
像是德州農工大學的21歲外野手Jace Laviolette
預計在他大三這年最高能賺到75萬美金
With that being the kind of money available to top college talent, multiple year
s’ worth of NIL could be comparable to a one-time professional signing bonus.
考慮到頂尖大學球員能獲得的這金額
多年下來的NIL收入
是可能和領一次的大聯盟簽約金競爭的
Prospects lost to college baseball are more likely to enter the draft ready to m
ake good on their signing bonuses, albeit at the expense of MLB teams’ preferre
d development plan.
而且這些跑去念大學的選手
之後投入選秀也更有可能拿到高額的簽約金
The 2023 MLB Draft featured a handful of top college players, including Skenes (
No. 1), LSU outfielder Dylan Crews (No. 2), Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford (N
o. 4), Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson (No. 6), Wake Forest right-handed pit
cher Rhett Lowder (No. 7) and Florida Atlantic first baseman Nolan Schanuel (No.
11), all of whom have already made their major-league debuts.
例如2023大聯盟選秀就一堆大學球員高順位
而且很多都已經早早登上大聯盟了
Paul Skenes
Dylan Crews
Wyatt Langford
Jacob Wilson
Rhett Lowder
Nolan Schanuel
For signing bonuses that ranged from Skenes’ $9.20 million to Schanuel’s $5.25
million, each team received a quick return on investment.
他們拿到525萬-920萬的高額簽約金
“Professional baseball organizations are relying on college baseball to develop
their players at a rate higher than ever,” Jay Johnson said.
美職也越來越依賴大學
以比以往更快的速度養成球員
In accordance with House v. NCAA, a historic lawsuit settlement earlier this yea
r that opened the door for schools to share revenue directly with athletes, coll
ege baseball teams by 2025-26 will be allowed to offer up to 34 full scholarship
s for the first time in the history of the sport.
除了NIL資金注入外
從2025-2026開始，一支NCAA棒球隊允許給到34份全額獎學金(原本只有11.7份)
“We used to be able to offer a signing bonus and a scholarship, where colleges
could only offer a limited scholarship.
以前大聯盟球隊能藉由簽約金+提供獎學金來說服球員
畢竟當時大學棒球只能拿到有限的獎學金
Now it’s definitely a more level playing field because they have NIL, they have
more scholarships if they’re funding them and you just got to be able … to pr
ove to them that they’re walking into a situation that’s going to make them be
tter.”
但現在不一樣了，大學和大聯盟是處在平等的競爭環境
大學能透過NIL +獎學金留下球員
Three years ago, MLB decision-makers ruminated on NIL worst-case scenarios.
三年前大聯盟的決策者曾思考過NIL的最壞情況
Three years from now, no one knows for sure how it might evolve. But today, MLB
executives and college coaches alike acknowledge that college baseball programs
have been empowered to vie for some of the best young talent the sport has to of
fer.
三年後也沒有人能確定它會如何發展
但如今大聯盟高層和大學教練都承認
大學棒球獲得爭搶好球員的能力
Opinions vary on whether such a reality is for better or worse. Regardless, it’
s here.
對於這樣是利是弊，意見不一
但無論如何它已經來臨
“We’ve hypothesized over these possibilities of this type of stuff, and now it
’s real,” Colahan said. “So we got to learn to live with that.”
我們曾經假設過這類事情的可能性，現在它變成了現實
所以我們必須學會與此共處
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