Those of you who follow High Plains Blogger might know already that I oppose paying college students for playing high-dollar sports such as football and basketball.

I mean, these young people already are getting a free college education because the school where they are enrolled provides them with “full-ride scholarships.” I believe those scholarships are payment enough for these students.

I watched the football game Saturday between the Oregon Ducks and the Penn State Nittany Lions and was struck as I watched every snap of the game how much the announcers referred to players who had entered that “transfer portal” to enable them to play another year or two of football. So many of the higher-profile players have no particular allegiance to the school but are playing for them because the school threw enough money at them to lure them onto their campus.

It’s all about the money … you know?

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel enrolled initially at Central Florida, then transferred to Oklahoma, then transferred again to Oregon. Am I the only sports fan who doesn’t feel as though the game has taken on a mercenary quality.

I still love college football. I prefer it over the pros, a game that is played by multi-millionaires with oversized egos to match their oversized wallets.

However, the college game is beginning to look more like the professional version and it’s a trend I find distressing.