Has Mark Emmert’s outlook on paying players changed? Well, probably not.

NCAA president Mark Emmert held his annual state of the association news conference Thursday, just days ahead of the Final Four in San Antonio. In such a scandalous year for the sport with the FBI’s ongoing investigation into corruption inside college basketball, there was a lot discussed.

Unsurprisingly, the topic of paying players came up. Emmert actually gave a seemingly relatively new outlook on the discussion in general:

Yes! Emmert didn’t explicitly come out and say college athletes never should and will never will be paid under the NCAA. But that doesn’t mean he’s exactly softening on his stance, which has been clear for years.

Earlier this month, Emmert even said the Olympic model, allowing athletes to get paid from sponsorships (aka a third party), is “well deserving of serious consideration” in college sports. But coming from Emmert, this should be taken with a grain of salt:

In a nutshell: the Olympic model Emmert is citing would allow for players to earn money for endorsements while retaining their amateur status. It is a softening of Emmert’s usual rhetoric, which usually runs along these lines:

“I know there’s a lot of debate out there for pay for play,” said Emmert, “but that’s not even open for discussion. It’s so antithetical to what college athletics is.”

While Emmert has always parroted the NCAA’s message about amateurism, he was at the helm of the organization as it instituted full cost of attendance stipends which go above the traditional room and board scholarships. But Emmert’s words about the Olympic model ring hollow because they allow him to look progressive while hiding behind the cocoon of the NCAA’s structure.

There’s obviously more ways to pay players than just having the NCAA or the schools do so. While it’s refreshing to hear Emmert even being open to imagining the possibility of doing this, it’s all just talk (and probably a public relations move!) for now.

Sigh.