Spurrier’s pay petition meaningless but concept has merits
Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban are among SEC coaches who believe it's time to pay players.
Steve Spurrier must have seemed like a seven-year-0ld on a sugar rush at the SEC meetings in Destin as he scrambled to get other coaches to sign up for his pay-the-players plan. But there’s a way to go about this, and a meaningless piece of paper isn’t it.
There are valid arguments on both sides of the pay-for-play issue. The “don’t pay:” Student athletes already receive a valuable scholarship. The “pay”: The dollars in college athletics and contradictory messages from the NCAA have grown out of proportion relative to the concept of amateur athletics. Therefore, it’s time for the athletes to share in the wealth.
My view is somewhere in the middle: I’m certainly not for handing football players $300 paychecks every game, as Spurrier is proposing. Finding a fair and workable salary system that fits into Title IX regulations would be nearly impossible. But I do think it’s time to look into giving student-athletes a small percentage of the peripheral income that a university’s athletic department makes off a a team or player’s name, whether that’s the sale of jerseys, T-shirts or video games.
Georgia coach Mark Richt put it best when he told our Chip Towers: “The spirit of wanting to get more financial help for our players is unanimous. But how to go about it, I’m saying that wouldn’t necessarily be the best way to do it. I didn’t sign [Spurrier's proposal] because I didn’t want to say that’s how I felt was the best way to get it done. … In no way shape or form was I saying I didn’t want to help student-athletes. I 100 percent do. … But how do you do it without hurting amateurism? How do you do it without tax implications? Maybe it’s through the scholarship becoming more valuable.”
Finally, let me add this: A sweeping change like this is not going to made because Steve Spurrier got Houston Nutt and Nick Saban – the biggest oversigning abusers — to sign his little petition. Nor is it up to the SEC, the Big Ten or any other conference. This is an NCAA decision.
But I’m happy for Spurrier that he’s so excited about this and was able to hold court with the ravenous media in a hotel lobby. Guess it beats answering questions about Stephen Garcia.
What are your thoughts on pay-for-play in some form to college athletes?
By Jeff Schultz
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264 comments Add your comment
PS49
June 2nd, 2011
12:01 pm
Let’s say 1 coach won 10 games a year, and another coach won 1 game a year. Would you pay them the same?
Let’s say 1 CEO earned $100 million a year, and another CEO earned $1 million a year, would you pay them the same?
Let’s say 1 sports program earned $50 million, and the other 1 earned $500,000, would you pay the students the same?
Steve Superior
June 2nd, 2011
12:02 pm
Simple solution…eliminate all rules, then none will be violated.
Bryan G.
June 2nd, 2011
12:02 pm
For a great perspective on this, please see the recent South Park entitled “Crack Baby Basketball Association.”
Cam Newton
June 2nd, 2011
12:05 pm
Naw, Rip, driving my own new Porsche. Had it a while.
My agent advanced me and Terrell the cash about a year ago.
Marteen is a Ballplayer
June 2nd, 2011
12:06 pm
5150, the rest of your rant aside, the SEC has been clamoring for a playoff for the past decade, led by Mike Slive. The Big 10 and Pac 10 commissioners have been vetoing it on a regular basis to keep their precious Rose Bowl as pure as possible. The SEC has, and always will, want a college playoff. That way they can have two teams in the BCS Championship instead of one. As things stand now, the SEC Championship game for all tense and purpose is the NC game.
Carlton
June 2nd, 2011
12:09 pm
Pay the players in the big athletics (football, basketball) a percentage of revenue made off their image or likeness (their jersey, pictures of themselves, autographs they sign, sports games). Players who fill the seats in the stadium (AJ Green, Knowshon Moreno, Reggie Bush, etc) should be able to collect on their likeness because they are the reason individual jerseys, etc are sold. Use another percentage of revenue generated from the larger athletics (again-football, basketball) to fund and pay athletes in smaller sports through extra stipends on top of their scholarship.
Redistribution of funds throughout entire athletic departments is the answer, not just focusing on football, basketball solely.
Texas Pete
June 2nd, 2011
12:10 pm
At a minimum, there should be an account established for those special players who drive jersey sales. Royalties are paid 4 years from the date the LOI is signed or immediately upon graduation, which ever comes first. If a star player leaves early for the NFL he doesn’t get his money until year 4. If a star player redshirts his first season and plays 3 years before “leaving early” or plays 4 years starting as a true freshman he gets his money when leaving the school. If a star player redshirts then plays 4 full seasons then gets his cash while still on campus that 5th year (loyalty reward).
But yes, a person should be paid royalties for money made directly off their likeness. All other players deserve a base amount for being on the team and contributing towards the brand. This includes general licensed products including video games.
will
June 2nd, 2011
12:10 pm
Remove football from the college or university environment. Make it pre NFL and paid for by the
NFL. Get it TOTALLY removed from anything to do with the college or university. Total sham anyway.
Nerd Furgeson
June 2nd, 2011
12:12 pm
Sure let’s pay the players. After they pay their own tuition.
PS49
June 2nd, 2011
12:13 pm
Spurrier’s petition was far from meaningless.
It will help Spurrier in:
Recruiting–players like to play for a coach that’s willing, given the circumstances, to compensate them, out of his own pocket if SEC approves
Families of players–what Mom isn’t moved by Spurrier’s petition to help the parents travel to their kid’s games?
Spurrier’s Current Players–makes you want to play harder for a coach fighting to get you more money
The coaches who voted against it hurt:
recruiting
families of recruits & current players
TDSE
June 2nd, 2011
12:13 pm
We pay some grad students stipends (in PhD programs it is 10-20K but in physics or math this can go as high as 40K a year) along with their tuition waivers because they provide valuable research and teaching support for the school. We should pay student athletes who provide even more lucrative services to their school.
Carlton
June 2nd, 2011
12:13 pm
Another point-does Michigan REALLY need to expand their stadium by another 10,000 seats to make the grand total 120,000 seats, or could they use that money otherwise to pay players/fund their other athletics? Again, the university is only funneling money into their football stadium to earn more money for the President, coach (Brady Hoke), and the Big 10 as a whole by putting another 10,000 a$$es in “The Big House” every Saturday
Louder and Mac
June 2nd, 2011
12:14 pm
PPFA (Payment Plan for Athletes)
Ya’ll ought to let us handle this situation for the entire conference.
Been workin’ out fine over here for decades.
Besides, we’re gonna need somethin’ to do for the next couple of
years. Gonna have a lot of free time.
JRev
June 2nd, 2011
12:15 pm
They don’t deserve a dime. They get FIRST pick when they sign up for classes, meaning they ALWAYS get the easiest/best teachers and time slots, plus the scholarship of course. The solution is to pay the coaches MUCH less and use the revenue to better the schools’ education, instead of promoting athletics. Last week’s South Park mocked this entire system quite well.
DawginLex
June 2nd, 2011
12:16 pm
Russ, you are an internet legend.
Regardless of the choice for UGA I hope you continue posting.
Your posts always cause me to spew Diet Coke out of my nostrils
Ps49
June 2nd, 2011
12:16 pm
Wouldn’t want my kid to play for a coach that
weaseled out of a golf bet on some of my buddies
back about 30 years ago, before he got famous and rich.
spurrier is a blowhard
June 2nd, 2011
12:16 pm
as the parent of a non-football division 1 athlete (Not at UGA,or GT) don’t see where you could make a rule like that and it work, it’s just Spurrier spouting off. I would like to see all athletes at every level at every NCAA school have a free meal plan at the school, walk-ons, soccer guys, baseball players etc., that aren’t on scholarship should at least get all the food they can eat.
spurrier is a blowhard
June 2nd, 2011
12:17 pm
Baseball players play 56 games, most on partial scholarship, ride thousands of miles on a bus and lose 20 pounds during the season eating raman noodles and peanut butter, you gonna pay them 300 a game out of your pocket Stevie?
PS49
June 2nd, 2011
12:20 pm
Jeff,
Can you ban the 12;16 imatator?
Thanks
shankit
June 2nd, 2011
12:20 pm
Open back up Colonial Bank, and issue ATM cards to all
athletes in the conference, with a credit limit of $300 per week
of season. Each team could invest in a money market fund
to cover.
shankit
June 2nd, 2011
12:23 pm
Sorry PS49, typo error, didn’t mean to use
your handle. Just addressing the message to you
about your coach.
PS49
June 2nd, 2011
12:23 pm
b.s. you do it everyday. 12;23 you know the rules, goodbye.
Jeff Schultz
June 2nd, 2011
12:29 pm
PS49 — I don’t ban imitators, sorry. I’d have to cross-reference every [phony] email address and IP address with screen names.
poopdawg
June 2nd, 2011
12:29 pm
5150, apparently you don’t have a penis.
PS49
June 2nd, 2011
12:31 pm
Why in the world would Mark Richt vote against this?
If Richt didn’t think it would go through, what’s the harm in backing students?
If Richt did think it would go through, why not be willing to give up less than 10% of his $3 mill income?
THE Death Penalty for THE Ohio State University
June 2nd, 2011
12:33 pm
`
Terrelle Pryor has his 350Z, his cellphone, his tatoos
and no Driver’s License.
.
PS49
June 2nd, 2011
12:35 pm
I don’t see $3000 or $4000 above scholarship hurting amateurism, amateurs would get paid $4k, pros $4 mill.
tax implications? who cares, you make $3 mill a year.
scholarship making up the difference? sure, get the school to pay for instead of Richt?
shankit
June 2nd, 2011
12:38 pm
Good points by Richt about consequences.
Equation
80 players x’s 4 years x’s 13 games per year x’s $300 per game =
$3900 per year per player
$312,000 per year for 80 players
x’s say 4 years per player = $!5,600 per player
x’s say 80 players = $1,248,000 for four years
Lot of accounting, lot of 1099’s by the universities ,
plus the players would become professional athletes
plus they would have to hire an accountant to file their
taxes.
Don’t think Sputterior has even thought about all the consequences.
yuck
June 2nd, 2011
12:38 pm
Why is this even a discussion…college football is already “pay to play.” And the NCAA could care less. Look at Cam Newton. As long as money is funneled through someone besides the player, they don’t care.
Best Regards
June 2nd, 2011
12:47 pm
The Evil Genius is always stirring his mind with evil ideas.
South Georgia
June 2nd, 2011
12:57 pm
This generation will only ask for more if you pay them legally. They need to learn some responsibility rather than being constantly rewarded.
Lowcountry Cock
June 2nd, 2011
12:59 pm
What is it about the HBC that makes AJC writers feel so insecure? This obsession is a bit strange and disturbing. As far as the “pay for play’ issue let’s not change out-dated and flawed system. Instead we can whine about A.J. selling his gear for a grand. Does anybody understand how poor most of these kids are? The shotgun shack that A.J. grew up is probably not worth a grand. Here’s a poor kid less than 12 months from being wealthy having to make this choice. $300 is an awful lot of money when you have nothing.
South Georgia
June 2nd, 2011
1:00 pm
The timing of this proposal to pay players is even more sinister. It seems to say, We cannot stop them from getting paid. Are we going to legalize every crime? I hope not.
IndyGT
June 2nd, 2011
1:01 pm
I applaud CMR for not signing this crumpled up napkin.. this really was a crappy publicity stunt by visor boy. CMR got it right, make the scholly more valuable or something, which you would then have to do for all amateur sports! And yes.. Grad school does give out fellowships, schollys for grad school. But, you’re not an amateur!! Grad students have degrees by then. I had a grad school fellowship in engineering, but had to pay my own rent, bills, health insurance, and many other expenses. And I don’t buy the these kids come from poor families, and have no money argument.. sorry, I knew guys in grad school that supported families of 3-4 on their grad stipend.
Deion
June 2nd, 2011
1:03 pm
Richt was also the LONE DISSENTER among the 12 coaches for trying to reduce from 28 to 25. 11 out of 12 SEC coaches wanted to keep the signings at 28, Richt was the LONE DISSENTER who wanted to get it reduced to 25.
Richt looks closed to all ideas that are not his own.
Never Again
June 2nd, 2011
1:03 pm
Why should a kid like A.J. make a decision to sell his gear and jeopardize his career? Because he is poorer than most could ever imagine. $300 is an awful lot of money when you have nothing.
Skeezix
June 2nd, 2011
1:04 pm
Geeezzzz. Coaches; i.e., teachers paying students (remember they are suppose to be students)? Terrible idea. Talk about self serving and a conflict of interest. What’s next? An auction?
Hey Steve: Why not just make a contribution of that amount of money to USC in the players names? Or contribute to cancer research, your church, or victims of the tornado that hit Joplin………….
Deion
June 2nd, 2011
1:06 pm
This article made me realize why Richt keeps losing so many games.
He’s not open to any new ideas. Like running the football.
DOGATOR
June 2nd, 2011
1:07 pm
The only reason that Mark Richt or any coach is even concerned about the financial plight of the players is totally self motivated. They all should be ashamed.
Buckeye
June 2nd, 2011
1:08 pm
The Death Penalty,
No excuses for Pryor but you may want to catch up the car situation. It has 80,000 miles on it and his mother paid about $11K for it.
I won’t bring up any driving related issues regarding other cats and dogs.
Tattoos? Can’t wait to see Isaiah’s, The Annointed One II, tricep art.
IndyGT
June 2nd, 2011
1:10 pm
Schultz – any idea what the yearly value of a Division I athletic scholarship is? I’d like to see what it is factoring in housing, food, books, clothes, etc. Did a quick google search, but didn’t find much. I’m willing to bet its probably more than the avg. US family pulls in.
Chris Matthews
June 2nd, 2011
1:10 pm
The 3 biggest cheaters in college football will agree on anything to further their images!
Deion
June 2nd, 2011
1:11 pm
Richt shoots down other people’s ideas or new ideas.
Kind of blind, close minded, intolerent, dogmatic, and basically unpersuadeable.
That’s why he went 6-7 last season.
NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT
June 2nd, 2011
1:16 pm
Somebody said it earlier but what about free education, free clothes, free food, instant respectability and pedigree, travel, exposure to academia, etc., could go on and on. If these guys and their families so hard up why is there no value put in the items previously mentioned? You know why? Because they are all thugs and gansta’s. Not matter what you give them they will bitch and moan for more. How ’bout let’s tell them if they don’t like it to go out and get a job or start their own league and reap their own profits. Fact is they can’t and furthermore do not appreciate the gifts they are given by God and these schools.
NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT
June 2nd, 2011
1:19 pm
Deion…I am not a Richt fan but I can tell you are stupid, dumb, ignorant, tiny-minded, dim-witted and basically a mental pigmy.
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
June 2nd, 2011
1:21 pm
Jeff, it’s good to be blogging with you again. I’m busy getting ready for the season. Coach Grantham has me working out with the safeties. You might see me for a few plays in the Chik-fil-a game. I may have misjudged Coach Grantham. He seems like a pretty good guy when you get to know him. There was that incident at the doughnut shop when they forget his sprinkles and he gave the choke sign to the young girl behind the counter. Mostly, though, he seems intent on getting his defense ready and becoming head coach here sometime soon. If I was Coach Richt I would sleep with one eye open.
GTT
June 2nd, 2011
1:22 pm
Make their scholarships cover grad school after their eligibility is up. Good idea, no?
Joe Namath, Jr: Super H.S. Football Player
June 2nd, 2011
1:22 pm
To All SEC Coaches: I read about how you guys want to pay players on a per game basis. I will graduate from H.S. next year. I can throw a football 110 yards, run the 100 meter dash in 9.8 sec., am 6′6″, weigh 250 lbs., can bench press 700 lbs., and I hold all the H.S. quarterback records in the nation.
How much will you bid for my services?
DawginLex
June 2nd, 2011
1:24 pm
Richt is the only one in the room with the guts to stand up for his principles.
The rest are sheep being led to slaughter.
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
June 2nd, 2011
1:26 pm
Being “Temporary” is hard on a mascot. It looks like I’d be permanent mascot what with all the dead mascots they’ve had to deal with lately. Having a big, inbred heart that can burst at any time would be bad enough but the weak bladder, slobbering, and drooling is hard on a dog. Of course, most of the coeds here are dealing with that, too. It’s something they have to work on before the season begins.