This is part of the problem too.
Increasing costs for an entertainment item both in the form of tix and donations etc, but also in the form of NIL collectives. College football games are very much a discretionary expense, and at some point people will cut the cost.
People complain about paying $5-10 for ESPN+, but paying hundreds even thousands more is just expected to go to a few games.
NIL is supposed to be where businesses etc, pay players for their NIL, for things like advertisements etc. (ie Iowa pork for Bacon)
Instead its become Joe normal fan give money to a collective so we can pay an 18 year old, 10X Joe normal fan's annual salary, to play football a few months a year, all the while giving him free tuition, housing, nutrition, medical etc etc. Oh then after you give him the money he can decide not to play, and then go play somewhere else that offers more.
I get it that we have to do it because everyone else is, that still doesnt make it right or how it should be set up.
I also get that the NFL etc pays millions to their players, but they are not expecting the regular fans to pay that plus their NIL deals they get from businesses (ie Toyota and Purdy) outside the cost of attending games.
Blame the courts for the bold. The Athletic Departments sure as hell didn't want it to go down the current path.