The article wasn't clear, but I think you've misread it: "Most never made a dime off the game. They are relatively anonymous men who played the sport in colleg

The article wasn't clear, but I think you've misread it: "Most never made a dime off the game. They are relatively anonymous men who played the sport in college and only later, for some reason or another, have found themselves struggling in life. Just like their N.F.L. counterparts, Hoffman and those former college players have been left to wonder: Did football do this?" The author meant to distinguish Hoffman et al frmo NFL players, who are at least famous and well paid for their troubles. Also, the Hoffman did not say the players never received "financial compensation". Hoffman said they never made a dime off the game, which is profit. (He's also speaking loosely, as the use of the idiomatic phrase suggests)