In recent years as the era of Name, Image, and Likeness has raged on and college athletes have begun to make amounts of money that would have been considered impossible even just ten years ago, many professionals have spoken out about the unfairness.
For more than 100 years, the most elite collegiate athletes did not get any sort of compensation - at least not legally - and those who would have cashed in at the time are understandably not thrilled that they missed out on the chance. But don't consider Detroit Lions star pass rusher Za'Darius Smith in that group.
During a recent Q&A with the Detroit Free Press, Smith raised some eyebrows when he actually said that he was glad NIL wasn't available when he was in school, saying it would have been a distraction from the ultimate goal of making it to the NFL.
"I would've been too focused on the money at the time. I feel like during my time in college, it was the last part of me getting to the big leagues," Smith said. "If I would've had that money in college, I probably wouldn't even have been worrying about the big leagues. Cause I would've been trying to take care of mom. 'Cause I had a kid at the time, so I'm glad I didn't get the money. It kept me hungry."
Smith was asked a follow up question about the fact that it's a ton of money that he missed out on, and he delivered an interesting response about his belief that the current system is not benefiting the athlete in the long-term if their goal is to make it to the pros.
"The kids are not doing it to better their game, they're doing it to take care of their family. I feel like for college for me, in NIL, I wouldn't have paid any attention to it. I would've wanted to go somewhere where I could get coached up and learn the game and really become a better football player.
Smith, who was a highly sought after player out of junior college and wound up playing at Kentucky, likely would have been worth multiple millions of dollars as an elite pass rusher who had big-time SEC programs after him. But Smith staying focused on his bigger goal wound up paying off, becoming a fourth round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft with the Baltimore Ravens and carving out a nice NFL career since then.
Smith has played for the Ravens, the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Cleveland Browns, and now the Lions in his near-decade long career.
Smith's mindset just goes to show that not every athlete has their priorities in order in this crazy era of chaos across collegiate athletics.
