This is an opinion column.

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The NCAA Tournament is taking its mid-week break while everyone figures out how to get to Los Angeles on time. Seems like a great day for a mailbag.

Let’s get to it.

People have had a lot to say about Nick Saban’s visit to Washington. Here’s my column on Saban’s efforts to lobby Congress. I received dozens and dozens of emails in response. Instead of responding to every email, I’ve decided to just let readers speak for themselves. I’ve selected the emails that represent both sides of the debate. Many of the perspectives were reasoned and compelling. Some, as you might have guessed, were a little out there.

Steve Serotte of Louisville, Ky., writes …

For a guy who just retired, he’s still hanging around. Take a load off Nick. You and your coaching colleagues built this model. Stop complaining. There are bigger issues in this nation. Homelessness, an open border, inflation, two candidates for president — one is senile, the other is criminal — mass shootings, foreign adversaries that want to see the elimination of Israel and Ukraine, a dysfunctional federal Congress that can not work across the aisle, violent crime, and a host of other issues. D-I college football is not included as an issue. Go sit down Nick and join College GameDay.

Greg Davis of Centre, Ala., writes …

The system is corrupt and should have been completely reorganized decades ago. The Supreme Court is divided on everything except this, 9-0. Coaches break multi-million dollar contracts to leave for a better deal. Entire conferences break up for better deals. The playoffs were expanded from two to four, to eight, to 12, soon to 14 — all for billions more dollars. And how much do the colleges want the players to get from these riches? Zero. More injuries, if lucky enough to go to pros, shorter careers. More CTE. Players will lose more money and health. All for the greed of colleges who pretend to have athletes’ interest first.

To the argument that players can’t be paid because they need money to finance non-revenue producing sports. To begin with, that is not the football player’s responsibility to finance the tennis team. Tell a player that as he goes into surgery. Why didn’t we tell Saban that to finance scholarships for non-revenue teams he would have to work for $7 million instead of $12. For tuition and books for $25,000 a year, that would finance 200 tuition scholarships. Problem solved. Throw in coordinators making $1 million instead of $2.5 million and you can do even more.

Chris Leak writes …

Coming from a parent of a major college athlete who spent six years of her life working at her craft, universities should just go ahead and get out of the scholarship business and simply offer contracts. In essence, that is where it is all headed anyway. Whether that is fair, or not, is beside the point. Mine came out of the cauldron with a master’s degree and a solid future in a career that she will be able to support herself with for the rest of her life. It was a two-way bargain and she and her university both did their best by each other. Apparently that is not good enough any more.

She also paid the price. Back surgery. Shredded ankle and two more surgeries. Her roomies totaled four knee surgeries and a shredded shoulder. I’ve always thought the two things universities should very much provide are full scholarships and lifetime “Cadillac” medical insurance coverage to those that “pay the price” and stay the course. Those two things should absolutely be a part of the bargain. PS: Somehow, I am reminded of what Wimp Sanderson once replied to a journalist attempting to ask a gotcha question, “How many of your players graduate?” His simple and correct reply? “All that want to…”

M. Rhodes writes …

I enjoyed your article, buddy, but I also agree with Nicholas Lou Saban about him not wanting to see a modern day “caste system” forming in NCAA football with say the QB having a gargantuan NIL deal but the O-Lineman is making like 15 percent of what the “star” player is getting.

I’m Generation X and I am extremely happy that the kids are getting openly compensated now. I just do not want them getting jealous of each other with that green-eyed monster. I humbly believe that whatever a program’s NIL collective amounts to, it should be divided equally between all 85 scholarship players. A 50 million dollar NIL collective divided by 85 amounts to over $500,000 per player. That is not bad for a college kid and it will promote economic harmony. I’ll continue to read your work on AL.com. Roll Tide…

Chuck Steiner in Johns Creek, Ga., writes …

Many college fans bemoan the fact that many young college athletes have traded the idea of loyalty to their awarded college scholarship and school for player-bounty money supplied by NIL “associations.” Many college fans agree with the recommendations promoted by Saban, Byrne, and Phillips and believe we should preserve the traditional framework of college athletics while allowing the athletes to share equally the monies raised by college sports in a framework that is sustainable and makes sense. The alternative is to fully professionalize college sports and treat college athletes and teams as if they were farm leagues for professional sports. Going down this path would likely remove broad-based support of college athletics and lead to the demise of the games we have enjoyed so much. That is unacceptable.

Chris Perry of Decatur, Miss., writes …

We are back in the post WWII days when Coach Bryant discussed in his autobiography that he would poach a player in the middle of the night and have them in an Alabama uniform the next game. I do not agree that players need to be paid because that would drive college football to being as phony as an NFL game. I have too many friends and coaches who tell the same story of the money changing the game, and changing the rules to create more fans. The big question: Is this a game of football, or do we just change to a monetized fan vote at the end of the game that resembles what football used to be?

Sammy Rubin of Clay/Trussville writes …

Character is the loser in this present chaos. Honor, integrity, moral uprightness, honesty, these are the traits we all want for our future leaders; God knows there’s not much of it among our leaders today. So I say, good, good for the young man or woman who through their character, earn the rewards of a life well lived. Saban and most college coaches have those goals in mind, that is to shape the character of the youngsters sent to them by hopeful parents.

Sam Chappel writes …

U.S. colleges are in the business of education. What business do they have sponsoring sports teams worth many, many millions of dollars? It’s not a central part of their educational missions. Where else in the world are elite professional athletes trained for their sports by playing on college teams?

The NCAA is a cartel so it is no wonder that it is losing antitrust cases and thus seeking some kind of exemption from Congress. If a major purpose of the NCAA has been to help student-athletes, then what is the reason that it would limit the number of athletic scholarships that its members may offer? Because a more important purpose was to limit the competition between its members. In the medium term, does the University of Alabama or Auburn University really have a chance competing to pay players?

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With so many incredible responses, where to begin? Capping scholarships at 85 was an attempt to rein in Alabama football during the Bryant Era. The drastic changes in the modern game are in part a response to Saban’s domination at Alabama. Regardless of where anyone stands on these issues, it’s amazing how much Alabama has shaped the course of collegiate athletics in the United States.

I agree with points from both sides of the aisle on this one. The idea that college athletics should build integrity and honor can’t get lost in the debate. How do you preserve the integrity and honor created by an unjust system? I guess that’s the Catch-22 of the college-football conundrum. Certainly the current NIL model is causing headaches, but let’s not blame the athletes for problems created by the adults.

A reckoning is coming for college football. The corporate mentality of American capitalism, for good or ill, is reshaping the game. As a journalist who has dedicated a career to covering how sports shapes our society, I will always attempt to filter these complex issues through a prism of fairness and equality. As a pragmatic realist, I know that the bottom line remains the same no matter how things change. It’s the fans who fuel these games.

We’ll have a basketball-related mailbag later in the week. Fire away.

SOUND OFF

Got a question about the changing landscape of college football, spring practice or March Madness? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe a question about what’s on your mind for the weekly mailbag. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama”.