The most obvious sign that college football has entered a bold, uncertain new era is not the fact that we now have a 12-team playoff, that West Coast teams are in the Atlantic Coast Conference, or that players move from school to school like air hockey pucks. No, the most obvious symbol of the break with college football’s 150-year history in 2024 is a 1.5-inch QR code that will adorn the helmets of Oklahoma State players this year.

We’ve seen players move from school to school. We’ve seen schools move from one conference to another. We’ve had playoffs for years (in some divisions, decades). But we’ve never seen anything that amounts to such a drastic reversal in attitudes toward paying players. This type of direct player funding was something that used to cost schools bowl eligibility or even the death penalty; now it’s an entry fee.

Fanbase as a whole is changing rapidly across the sports landscape, but nowhere is that more evident than in college football. With NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, expanded playoffs, legalized gambling, and heck, even the new EA Sports College Football video game, we now live in a world where fandom is a completely different proposition than it was just a few years ago.

What does this mean for you? If you’re a Pokes fan, make sure your bank account is linked to your phone and you have an HDTV. If you’re a fan of any of the other 133 top-tier football programs, get ready. Your fandom is about to be monetized.

Gone are the days when players etched themselves into a university’s history and remained loyal to it forever. Last year’s Iron Bowl hero Isaiah Bond – he caught the “Gravedigger” pass on fourth-and-31 – transferred to Texas immediately after Nick Saban resigned. Georgia’s potential future salvation at quarterback, Dylan Raiola, transferred to Nebraska late last year when the Cornhuskers made him a better offer.

(Before you accuse players of disloyalty, remember: Coaches have been doing this sort of thing for generations. And players don’t usually leave schools tainted with sanctions.)

Gone are the days when you could count on your school playing the same opponents every year. Thanks to conference expansion, it will take several seasons for a school to play through all of its conference opponents. Big rivalries will remain, but others — like Mississippi State-LSU or Michigan-Minnesota — will only happen every few years. They may not have had the impact of Ohio State-Michigan or Auburn-Alabama, but they had their own charm and character, and that is now fading.

Then, of course, there are the rivalries that were destroyed or devalued by realignment, like Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, Oregon-Oregon State, or Washington-Washington State. Sure, you have decades-long memories of those showdowns, but hey, how about that new carpet in the locker room funded by realignment?

Gone are the days when you could be a passive fan and buy the occasional ticket or sweatshirt to support your school. Wealthy alumni already know the pain of ever-increasing “donations” to get the chance to buy tickets. The microdonation NIL structure means that everyone can show their support in tangible financial means.

Now every single fan has to ask themselves: How much of a fan are you? Are you willing to forego a dinner or a mortgage payment to strengthen the offensive line? Hey, how about dipping into your savings to lure that five-star receiver? Technically, a college fund doesn’t just have to your Kids, right?

It’s not entirely clear how Oklahoma State will operate with its new NIL approach. You can see the potential problems from five states away – there’s no “QR” in “team,” after all – but it’s a bold new direction. And it’s also a two-way street. What do you think future generations of college players will want? fewer Money?

The logical next step is clear: NIL and the portal — plus the betting, of course — help distance fans from the actual players on the field. The gap between students and student-athletes was already huge; now it’s unbridgeable. This isn’t just the guy you see out there scoring the touchdown in your geology class; this is a guy who’s making more this season than you’ll make in your first five years out of school.

It’s pretty clear why these changes have happened – money, tons of money obsessed with college football – and also where it’s leading. The college football universe is consolidating inward, ever more toward professionalism, where tradition and atmosphere must take a back seat to triumph and profit. Every year, college football gets closer to the NFL with a marching band soundtrack, and 2024 marks a giant step in that direction.

Enjoy the season, even if it’s not quite how you remember college football. Changes are happening. It’s time to adapt our fandom.