They have a talent that someone is willing to pay for. Two parties come to an financial agreement as to what that talent is worth. What difference does it make if it is playing football, a record contract, modeling contract or working at McDonalds. Should society not allow young adults to make significant money because the devil might get them? If the person receiving the money makes bad choices, that's on them. It is called capitalism. The system has changed and it is not likely to change to what it used to be. You can stomp your feet and yell how it is going to ruin society all you want but this is not going anywhere. Remember, this is windfall is only going to happen for a few and not the majority. Most will not get any huge amount of money. It seems that money is a bad idea for only for poor college athletes but good for everyone else. Some will make poor choices and hopefully learn from it.