Your last sentence is exactly what I am afraid of. Any pretense of amateurism, or the student/athlete is now out the door. So long to the Carolina Way. Dean Smith turning over in his grave.
Now, did that approach mean we were less competitive in football? Maybe. But I don't care. Does it mean we may have a harder time competing in basketball? Maybe, but I haven't seen that yet. And even if it did I'm not sure I care about that either. This is college athletics, not minor leagues.
(Now, if you're going to try to convince me that a health football program means you're able to be more competitive in other sports, I'm willing to listed to that. But I'm still uncomfortable with this move overall)