I disagree.
One of my favorite things as a kid in the 80s/90s was getting the calendar with the IU basketball headshots. You could collect them and watch the kids grow from freshmen to seniors. Hell, even had that during the Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey years. We didn't actually know the kids but you were able to feel like you did when you saw them as kids coming in and maybe doing something special and got to watch them grow as players.
From a football perspective, I remember watching the spring game when Peyton Ramsey was a RS-Fr and I remember thinking he had "it." He ended up starting later that year and even though he had to fight for playing time basically his whole career at IU, he always had "it" and I rooted for him hard. I don't know if we'll ever have that kind of thing again when damn near every team goes portal hunting for mercenaries.
It's still football and it's still fun and they've still got the trident on their helmets, but it's not the same. At least for me.
The NCAA and the schools were greedy. They didn't give an inch. And it's rebounded so hard on them that I'm not even sure that they know yet how badly they've screwed the whole system. College sports as we know it are dead.
And I'm all for actual NIL. Caitlyn Clark's endorsement was worth something. Olivia Dunne's endorsement was worth something. Actual endorsement deals are fine. But we don't have an NIL system. We have straight up paying players to play at your school. So, like
@kmathum said, amateurism is dead. I guess the real question is whether we're okay with college sports being a professional endeavor. I'm not, but I'll have to learn to deal with it because the toothpaste ain't going back in the tube.