Wasn't sure how much they did get paid but based on this article
Rookie Salary in the NFL in 2023, looks like just a shade under 800k. They didn't say how much of that is guaranteed, though, but they did say "significant portion" isn't. So, it very well could be that some players in college make as much or more than that. Few will, though.
I have no problem with them getting paid but not under the guise of NIL. NIL isn't/wasn't supposed to be a way for athletes to get paid to play a sport while in college. It was a way for them to make money due to merchandise sales, video game appearances, pictures/posters and the like based on their name, face, body.
If we're (the royal we) good with NCAA players becoming professional players, acting as minor leagues to the NBA and NFL, let's dispense with the NIL nonsense and blow the whole thing up. Give the players a % of all revenue. Schools/NCAA/whatever will be the regulatory body for men's college BB and football will collectively bargain with the players, salary caps will be set, contracts will be set, etc. Let's make it what it really is. College football is a shell of what it was 20 years ago. May as well go all the way.
I'd also have a learning program where these kids get various life skills that some/most of them aren't getting now (kind of like the North American pro sports teams do now but hit them with it when they're 18) and I'd take away the requirement for them to be students (if they want to go to class, that's cool but don't make it a requirement for them to play). Give them housing that's not part of the general school population (I guess they do that now? Not sure). If you wanted to get really crazy, you could have NFL teams "sponsor" college teams (or part of them) as part of the NFL or NBA minor league system.
Let's turn it into a true minor league system, which is really what it is.