Random Thoughts: football and more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

The latest installment of Random Thoughts centers around flag football and 8-man football, high school NIL, a possible WNBA strike, and the saga involving the Cincinnati Bengals and Shemar Stewart.

OHSAA football

Last week, the OHSAA announced it will sanction a state championship game in girls flag football, starting next spring. 80 high schools in Ohio have flag football and that number is expected to increase. It’ll be interesting to see if/when it expands to this area.

Here’s the next area where I’d like to see an increase of teams – eight man football. Yes, the OHSAA sanctions a state championship game but there are only something like eight teams in Ohio that offer it, and they’re scattered mainly over northwest and northeast Ohio. The closest ones to here are Holgate and Stryker. There is one team in Pennsylvania, just across the Ohio border. All of these teams compete in the Northern-8 conference. I think a number of small schools could benefit from offering 8-man football. Heck, I wouldn’t mind seeing Division VII being replaced with all 8-man teams, but that’s a discussion for a different day.

High school NIL

Former Ohio State basketball player Jared Sullinger has been vocal about Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for high school athletes in Ohio.

According to Sullinger, not offering NIL at the high school level forces student-athletes to leave Ohio for the chance elsewhere and he’s been critical of the OHSAA for not allowing it. I do know some states have NIL opportunties.

With all due respect to Jared Sullinger, personally, I think it’s a terrible idea and apparently so do OHSAA member schools, who voted against it in 2022. Even if had passed, who would police it? Also, exactly how many student athletes have left Ohio for it? I’m guessing it’s a handful at most. No thank you, big pass on this one.

WNBA strike

The WNBA has made headlines as of late with the threat of a strike if salaries don’t increase substantially, starting with the next contract.

It’s been well publicized that the league, which is subsidized by the NBA, loses about $40 million per year. I don’t know if that’s accurate or not. Most people don’t know, simply because we don’t have access to the books. If I had to guess, I’d say there’s probably some sort of operating loss but since this always comes up when discussing a new deal, it’s quite possible it’s a negotiating ploy with some interesting bookkeeping. The WNBA cries poor while the players are seeking a huge raise. This happens all the time during contract negotiations.

I’m not about to get into what’s what, but it probably wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest, especially the players, if a strike actually occurred. Hopefully the players don’t paint themselves into a corner they can’t get out of.

More football

Can you believe football is just nine days away? Okay, it’s just NFL preseason football but it’s football! College football is just 33 days away. The season will kick off with a handful of games on August 23 and while none of them are what you’d call barnburners, hey, it’s still college football. High school football is just 32 days away for most teams. How exciting.

Shemar Stewart/Bengals

Shermar Stewart, a defensive end from Texas A&M, is the only unsigned first round draft pick. He and the Bengals have been locked in a contract stalemate for weeks.

I’ve heard grumbling from Bengals fans about the team being cheap, etc., but that’s not really the issue here. The amount of his contract is set by the rookie wage scale, a rather handsome $18.9 million over four years. It’s the language of the contract that’s causing the hold up.

Apparently, he wants it fully guaranteed, no matter what. The Bengals want to be able to void at least some of the guarantee if Stewart violates NFL policies that warrant a suspension or if for some reason, he winds up in jail. Look – if that’s the case, I don’t blame the Bengals. At what other place of employment can you get your full salary if you’re suspended or worse? Personally, I don’t think it’s unreasonable. Apparently, Stewart’s camp thinks otherwise. I don’t believe Stewart has had any legal issues but here’s an idea – keep it that way. Sign the deal, stay out of trouble and there won’t be an issue. Also, get to training camp, pronto.

As always, if you have thoughts or comments on any of the above topics, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.