There's something more in play here, I suspect..
Let colleges openly pay players. They have a value...and the colleges are acting as a free farm system for the NFL. One knee blowout and a multimillion dollar future is toast, given to a college that makes those millions from a star player. Heck, let them unionize and know the value of their stardom. It will help them get a handle on their NFL value...or lack of value.
DK