It's not that people didn't see it coming. It's that they don't care. (At least that's how I feel)
The current situation is capitalism at its finest. Supply and demand.
People don't have to like it, but under the current laws, this is the way it has to be. State governments and the court system have found that the restrictions on player movement and compensation that the NCAA wants to enforce are illegal.
Yeah, it might hurt Iowa State in some circumstances. That's definitely a possibility. But those are the risks that you have to take.