Life's Persistent Questions

Getting paid.

Michael Lewis wrote for NYT about how college football players are getting ripped off by their schools. Of course he is right. How could coaches make millions of dollars from contracts and endorsement deals, when the student-athletes see jerseys with their names fly off the store shelf and not get a single cent? Lewis suggests a tiered system of pay-for-service, where players in skilled positions get more money than others. I have an even better idea.

How about setting up a graduation fund for every athlete in addition to the scholarships. The school pays into the fund a certain percentage of the program's annual net revenue. The account will only be drawable to the student-athlete after he graduates with a degree. It is obvious why this system is better than the current scholarship-only system. One, it is more fair. For those who believe tuition, room and board are sufficient for the poor athletes, think again. If the total NCAA football revenue is $1.8 billion per year, that means each player generated close to $150,000 (121 teams and 100 per team). Two, it obviously promotes graduation. For the players that leave school early to pursue professional careers, they would forfeit the money, which would be chump change compare to any professional signing bonus. But for the rest of them, one hundred grand could mean a down payment for a house, seed money for a small business, that knee surgery when he is twenty-eight or even tuition for graduate degrees. Remember, they are student-athletes.

posted by hedgehog @ 4:50 AM