Top players at top universities are worth multiple millions per year. This was obvious long before NIL. Now you see it clear as day. It was obvious before because CFB wouldn't have been a multi-billion dollar industry and schools making $100mm a year in profit if it weren't the case. Now that money has to rightfully go to the people doing the work.
The whole "they get a free education" was just a slogan to allow for money to be stolen from those doing the work and paid to those marketing they were doing great service to these underprivileged young men that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford a college education. It was a completely false narrative bought by everyone involved.
40 years * 200,000/yr = 8,000,000 - you get about 60% after all total taxes, it's really closer to 50 but we'll go with 60 = $4,800,000.
Now players make it upfront or while they are doing the service. In the 4 years, they play.
The education is not free because they are trading the "$200k edu" for the profits they are making the school which is in the millions per year they play. There is a high cost to attend, play, and make your school a lot of money. A cost that is much greater than the "edu" they "give" you.