A few things.
1. If kids are already showing up with expensive stuff, which happens all the time, then the entire point of whining about a sponsorship deal is irrelevant.
This is the cynic's dodge: "it's already happening, so why worry about it?" But if you truly believed that "it's irrelevant", then it wouldn't make sense to make the rest of the arguments you made below.
The truth is that it isn't already happening - certainly not at the level it would be if it was legalized. First, if they already were making all that money, nobody would really be pushing for change with the claim that the athletes are getting ripped off. They'd already all be making that exact same money already. But instead, advocates are claiming that athletes are getting ripped off, which obviously means they're
not making that kind of money right now.
Second, if they were making that much money already, guys like Pryor would not have to resort to selling their jerseys.
2. Businesses will eventually need to see a return on that investment, or it becomes completely worthless to have some kid sponsoring their business.
No, not at all. What return on investment do alumni get for violating NCAA rules right now? By the very nature of it being illegal, they can't publicize it, so there isn't an economic benefit at all. Yet, it still sometimes happens anyway. That's because some alumni are willing to give away their own money just to help their team win. I don't think that can reasonably be disputed.
3. That kid EARNED $100K by being good. In a free market, as some might say you're a fan of, we reward people based on merit. If a kid is good enough at football to earn $100K selling t-shirts, fuckin let him earn.
It's not a free market, and isn't supposed to be. It's a college athletic league with rules on how much money athletes can get to maintain competitive balance.
Kids who believe they are truly worth wads of cash without the name of a university attached, and without the rest of the non-star players for which the university foots the bill, are free to play in a minor league. Obviously, if there was that much independent demand for their talent, someone would set it up.
Who the hell are we to stand in his way?
"We're" not.