In reality all that was done was bring what was being done by many (probably most) schools under the table out into the open... At least the have nots now know exactly where they stand and what they need to ante up if they want to compete with the big names..., if more players gain from this system then that's a great thing... This way they don't have to sweat out worrying about whether an obscure 2nd cousin is handling their money well in an offshore account and in their best interests... (that's still a potential problem but at least now there's transparency and recourses available)...
As far as coaching salaries go, if the schools couldn't afford it they wouldn't pay out those numbers... Competition, Results, Supply and Demand... Those that don't like this system are free to move to Beijing...
any prior illegalities were illegal for a reason, and if not dealt with, should have been.
that said, what's going on now, and headed in the direction of, is on a scale literally 100 times $100 or even $10,000 handshakes.
as for schools being able to afford the beyond absurd salaries with beyond absurd guarantees, even if so which is questionable at best, hasn't been done without significant loss on the part of everyone else, all the fans, and even all the non fans who never watch college sports, but still are forced to pay for this salary insanity.
tickets have become unaffordable to many. (parking now costs more than game tickets used to).
long time fans for decades lose seating choice to the wealthy, even though the extra money from the wealthy is totally unneeded, just wanted.
the east sideline in AH is totally obscured to everyone in the east stands and everyone watching on tv, so a handful can sit in chairs where no chairs should be.
cable bills that used to be $6.95 mo are now over $100 mo, pricing many out of what should be a basic utility. (including many who don't even watch sports).
AH and other arenas now make Times Square look subdued as to gaudy.
tuition keeps rising and many non full prof teacher salaries are far less than they should be, leading to unaffordabilty of an education to many, beyond massive student debt, and not having the best teachers we could.
let's also not lose sight of the absolute reality that the entity with the max revenues over all else mentality that's now driving the goal of college sports to be to maximize revenues at all costs, to benefit the very very very few at the expense of the many, is also the very same entity that's entrusted to administrate our system of higher education.
and now, also a main, even dominant, player in our hospital and healthcare systems.
it would be beyond naive to assume said entity magically changes it's spots when overseeing it's inherited sports side, with it's inherited educational side, and it's inherited, newly acquired, and ever expanding, healthcare and hospital side.