Steve Spurrier proposes that coaches pay players out of their own pockets
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier believes coaches should be able to pay 70 players $300 per game out of their own pockets.
DESTIN, FLA. – South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier emerged from Wednesday afternoon’s meetings with SEC athletic directors and fellow football coaches with a crinkled piece of paper in his hand. And with a raspy, Godfather-like voice — he has been hoarse the past two days — he proceeded to tell media gathered here to cover the SEC meetings that he wants to be able to pay his players out of his own pocket.
“I presented a proposal that we give our football players $300 a game for game expense,” Spurrier told reporters in one of the lobbies in the Sandestin Hilton Beach Resor. “They can give it to their parents for travel, lodging, meals. Maybe they could take their girlfriend out Sunday night or Saturday night and so forth.”
For a fleeting moment it wasn’t clear if Spurrier was joking or being serious. Then he raised the piece of a paper from which he made his proposal. At the bottom were dotted lines with the names of the SEC football coaches underneath. Seven of them included actual the coaches’ signatures. Asked who they were, Spurrier read them off.
“The guys that were willing were [Will] Muschamp, Derek Dooley, [Nick] Saban, Les Miles, Houston Nutt, Dan Mullen and myself,” Spurrier said.
“A bunch of our coaches felt so strongly about it that we’d be willing to pay,” he said. “Seventy guys, 300 bucks a game. That’s only $21,000 bucks a game. I doubt it will get passed. But as coaches, we make all the money, as do universities and television, and we need to give more to our players. That was just something we need to get out there.”
Conspicuously absent from the list was Georgia’s own Mark Richt. I asked him about it as he checked out of the hotel to make his way back to Athens.
“The spirit of wanting to get more financial help for our players is unanimous,” Richt said. “But how to go about it, I’m saying that wouldn’t necessarily be the best way to do it. I didn’t sign it 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. Every single coach in that room wants to do that. We all believe that. 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.”
Richt’s sentiments more closely matched those of SEC athletic directors, who generally didn’t take Spurrier’s proposal seriously.
“I don’t think you’re going to see anybody give a stipend to an individual,” Florida AD Jeremy Foley said. “I think this cost of attendance conversation is going to continue and I think that will probably gain some momentum. . . . Coach Spurrier’s desire is part of that conversation. You just couldn’t do it ikndividually in one sport. It will be national legislation.”
The SEC and other BCS conferences are getting behind legislation that would elevate the value of scholarship for student-athletes from just room, board, books, meals and lodging to full cost of living.
Spurrier is realistic in his expectations. More than anything, it seemed like he just wanted to make a point.
“We all make so much money,” he said. “It’s only $300,000 for 14 games. For what us coaches are making nowadays, we’d all love to do that.”
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226 comments Add your comment
Lowcountry Bulldawg
June 2nd, 2011
10:39 am
Title IX! Enough said, move on. Nothing to see here except Spurrier getting free publicty for South Carolina and stirring the pot. Typical Spurrier and alot of dummies jumping on board with him.
Eddie Murphy
June 2nd, 2011
10:40 am
give em a Coke and a smile and tell ‘em to shut the f#@k up.
AfghanHound
June 2nd, 2011
10:41 am
MW, don’t you want to change your last statement? “honor students give a school prestige AS WELL”. It is indeed the student and faculty that brings prestige, not the athletics program. Harvard, Yale, MIT, Princeton????
Ted
June 2nd, 2011
10:41 am
Good idea. Easy to understand. I like it. Discuss the message, not the messenger.
Punter
June 2nd, 2011
10:44 am
Chip,
Please permanently ban the person calling your comment section a “septic tank”. June 2, 9:11 comment. I am tired of people disparaging your work, if they don’t like, and resort to grade school name calling, ban them.
down south fan
June 2nd, 2011
10:44 am
ok for 1 thing all the people complaining about this and that . stop it when football seasons get here you,ll all loving the players sacks, so make up your minds in or out
heartofdarkness
June 2nd, 2011
10:47 am
Sounds like a lot of dawg fans are waxing nostalgically for Ivy League football. What explains the universities and booster associations reluctance to give it to them?
Ryan2White
June 2nd, 2011
10:54 am
Pay them boys! They make millions of dollars for their school and the NC double @$$holes (NCAA)..
UGA Insider
June 2nd, 2011
11:01 am
I think Mike Slive should pay it out for his $1,000,000/ year bonus he gets paid by the SEC to have a BCS Nat’l Camp.
Chuck
June 2nd, 2011
11:01 am
Using the narrow minded Spurrier approach, I am sure it wouldn’t be long before these coaches salaries would be raised to cover the paltry $300 a game they were so gallantly dealing out. These same coaches that jump jobs for bucks have no intentions of giving any $$$$ up. They know in the end it won’t be their money the kids would be getting.
Chris
June 2nd, 2011
11:01 am
Pay ‘em!! And all you hypocrites who say they shouldn’t be paid. Well, you have probably never played an organized sport in your life. Believe me, the risks far outweigh the benefits.
For you couch potatoes who sit at home and yell at these guys through the T.V., on Saturdays, mad because these guys have already made more of there lives at 20 years old, then you have at 45, Bite Me!
ATL Sports Fan
June 2nd, 2011
11:02 am
This will never happen. What are coaches going to do at smaller D-1 schools? If they are only getting paid 500K a year, how do they pay 300K a season to their players? What about the other 15 players on scholarship? I guess the players being red-shirtted will not be paid. Talk about having a team divided. Last but not least, what about the other sports? This would be against title ix.
ATL Sports Fan
June 2nd, 2011
11:04 am
The NCAA is already concerned with boosters paying players. What kind of issues do you think will emerge if you have coaches paying some players 500, 1000 or more to certain players. I can see it now. I decided to go to this school because the coach pays some players more and i might be that player.
AltamahaDawg
June 2nd, 2011
11:08 am
I can’t imagine the NCAA has an absolute ban from getting part time jobs in the summer. They used to all gop home and work, or whatever. But that before they all stayed on campus to basically train yr round. It’s probably more a matter of time, than rule.(maybe both) I suppose there is some fear of something appearing preferencial with part time jobs on campus or at “dealerships”.
Maybe, part of the equation is: If you are home, alls fair, if you are on campus, it’s a differnt rule? Somebody aught to be able to clarify this.
BartBuzz
June 2nd, 2011
11:09 am
This would open up one big can of worms. Once you start down that path college football will never be the same. Let me see. Football players get a tuition-free education, free books and free food. And I’m sure there are other freebies we don’t know about.
bgdawg
June 2nd, 2011
11:14 am
wait no Gene Chizik on that list??? Wha???
DIT
June 2nd, 2011
11:21 am
Serious question – I have been gone from Athens for about 25 years. Without a scholarship, what’s it cost these days for a student to attend one year at UGA?
DawginLex
June 2nd, 2011
11:28 am
Spurrier needs to start using his AARP benefits and go play golf
janice
June 2nd, 2011
11:29 am
Isn’t the quality education the players are getting (which includes free tutoring and structured study halls to help them pass their classes) for FREE payment enough? The players should be grateful, not greedy. They get to run around on the field and high five their way through college instead of trying to work to make money to stay in school. I would rather play a sport for one semester instead of work 5 nights a week to pay for classes.
AfghanHound
June 2nd, 2011
11:33 am
Chris, you’ve probably never made a positive contribution to anything outside of sports, to which you pay ultimate homage. You my friend, are a sports junkie, meaning it has taken over your life.
NICK
June 2nd, 2011
11:37 am
Funny, all the nut-jobs in the SEC signed off on that proposal.
Hmm.
bgdawg
June 2nd, 2011
11:37 am
i believe that college players should sell what they earned. they earned the jersey they wear they earned the trophies, they earned the rings. if they want to sell them while they’re in college then they should have that freedom but what spurrier is implying might just kill college football.
Call it like it is
June 2nd, 2011
11:40 am
This is beyond silly. Free education, free food, free tutors. Pay them, I dont think so. Lets face the facts more then likely 75% of these guys would never qualify to be at the school their at. Their picked to play football and in return they are given the “rare” opportunity to get an education, to which many of them don’t take. Out of 70 players how many will make it to the NFL, 2, 3 average. The rest not so much. They have benn given a great gift, its up to them to run with it.
*Do the schools make huge amounts of money of them? Yep so what. That money is then filter out to the whole school. Don’t like it, then dont go, dont take the free education, stand your ground, or you could step back and look at the kids who have busted their ass their whole entire life to get to that school and work 2 jobs so they continue to be at that school. You want to pay someone, pay the kid who has the grades and overall will be better for society then some hack who played ball for 2 years, didnt make it to the big boys and now is a bag boy at the local Krogers.
Captain Obvious
June 2nd, 2011
11:42 am
Umm… the document is symbolic. It expresses a valid concern shared by most college coaches. I don’t think anyone in the meeting thought it would be adopted verbatim. Its meant to start the process, not end it.
Dwayne
June 2nd, 2011
11:43 am
We can not pay the football players because the money they should get goes to the badmitten team.
bluedevils
June 2nd, 2011
11:44 am
why would some of the players want to take a cut in pay to just $300 a game?
gomdawg
June 2nd, 2011
11:48 am
Over 15 % of the players leave early for money. So we don’t need to pay a player .He or she knows this when they come to a school
a nony mous
June 2nd, 2011
11:48 am
Only thing I hate about this idea is that I have to agree with Spurrier on something. Another old ball coach from Alabama named Bryant also proposed this idea long time ago.
Jonkdawg
June 2nd, 2011
11:52 am
Let the judge decide , who is it? The blood sucker NCAA that’s who! they are the one who will say yes or no to everything, it is not up to Mark Ritch or Spurrier. Think before say kiddo.
NWGA Dawg
June 2nd, 2011
11:52 am
Got to hand it to the “Ole Ball Coach”…at least what he is proposing is getting people talking, which is exactly what needs to happen. I don’t know how this is going to be done, but I agree it needs to happen. I played Div I baseball, and had to buy a loaf of bread and bologne to just have lunch/dinner for 2-3 weeks out of every month. I’m not saying we need to pay the players, but we definitely need to up the ante a bit and help them out. I cringe when I see people on here who don’t agree with this, b/c quite frankly they have never played big time college athletics. Kudos to Spurrier for taking up for the student athlete…
Blackberry Cobbler
June 2nd, 2011
12:03 pm
co dawg
June 1st, 2011
6:34 pm
Apparently, education no longer carries much value. That’s why the United States lags behind other countries. These players get room, board, education and food. Poor college student is part of the experience.
co dawg– You could not be further wrong and off-base. Education does matter is and is valued. But, these players are also there for something else very important– to play ball and that raises millions of dollars for the unviersity and coaches salaries. Player scholarships, as you say, pay for things like tuition and room and board but gives the player nothing for “spending money”. Many students work while in school. Players can’t do that. So why shouldn’t they get a little money? I think it could be funded through the athletic associations and included in the scholarship.
Joshua Barlowe
June 2nd, 2011
12:05 pm
The SEC already pays their players.
DUMB.
1eyedJack
June 2nd, 2011
12:08 pm
Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE OL’ Ball Coach
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!
Hasn’t college athletics gotten along fairly well without paying atletes? Why now all of a sudden should athletes be paid? Because the conferences and the schools make boat loads of money? No one forces anybody to go to college and play sports.
If they want to get paid then they should get drafted and play in the NFL minor leagues. What? Well if the NFL is not willing to pay to develop them then we’re trying to wring the neck of the wrong chicken.
Dr. H
June 2nd, 2011
12:10 pm
Laugh all you want, but Coach Spurrier is trying to get a needed discussion started. Just try to get any of the Presidents of any SEC school to tell you what would happen to their school’s budget without football income. Bur first, you would have to get the Preidents’ heads out of the sand!!!
MyPatooti
June 2nd, 2011
12:11 pm
He would be “opening up a can of worms” as anyone with common sense and logic can see. The very first thing that would happen would be the ladies golf team filing a lawsuit for their money. There has to be a way, but no this way.
1eyedJack
June 2nd, 2011
12:13 pm
Shouldn’t about 80% of these guys qualify for Pell Grants? That’s some serious coinage.
Skyler
June 2nd, 2011
12:16 pm
RE: Sounds like a recruiting tactic in disguise to me
I have to agree strongly. It is a “I look superior tactic.”
Crimson Nation
June 2nd, 2011
12:31 pm
@ bgdawg…you leg humpers are still whining about your sorry ass team from last year. typical losers. Chizik was not the one caught “paying”….that was Mississippi. If you’re going to be sore, at least get your facts straight.
From the great state of Alabama where not ONE but TWO teams went back to back….2009 National Champs, Heisman Trophy Winner and 2010 National Champs, Heisman Trophy Winner.
Crimson Nation
June 2nd, 2011
12:37 pm
But back to the REAL story…bad idea all the way around. $300 will become $500 will become $1000, etc., etc., and then eventually baseball players, track and field, gymnastics, basketball, swimmers. The coaches SAY the money will come out of their own pocket but come on..REALLY? I guarantee you their salaries will be increased to that exact amount to cover those “out of pocket” expenses. The professors and administrators across the board will all have to give up something in the budget whether it’s their own compensation or classroom materials. Or tuition will be raised to cover the costs associated with paying players. There are too many scenarios to list as to why this is a BAD idea!
Atlanta87
June 2nd, 2011
12:38 pm
As an Auburn fan, I actually agree with you Crimson Nation. These mutts are so bitter about how sorry their football program is that they have to have something else to talk about. The Newton jokes are old. Shut up and go pee on a tree or go chase a mailman.
schmeckdawg
June 2nd, 2011
12:39 pm
1eyedJack
June 2nd, 2011
12:13 pm
Shouldn’t about 80% of these guys qualify for Pell Grants? That’s some serious coinage.
GREAT CALL!!!!!!!!!!!
and the winner is ...
June 2nd, 2011
12:40 pm
How much do the players get for practicing? How much do they get for rehabbing blown knees? Instead of paying atheletes, how about paying every student actually enrolled at a school for the purpose of learning something that will help their careers (and not leave them 10 years in debt) by reducing tuition. That could be accomplished by paying head coaches $24,000 a year, and make all assistants be volunteers. They could return to using leather helments (saves on paint) and play on fields of dirt and clumps of grass, with just a few aluminum stands. Free admission to all students (50 cents to all others), and the scoreboards are like on a little league field.
Or, they could leave their attachments to educational institutes and call a spade a spade. They are for-profit businesses that need to pay all employees a living wage and become the minor leagues to professional sports, without making everyone in the world pay for their little games, whether or not they care about their little games.
Red
June 2nd, 2011
12:42 pm
I say go after the NCAA with pitch forks. They are the ones in control of who makes money out of these student-athletes. Everyone besides the student-athletes are making money out of them. Sure they get full scholarship and good education but that doesn’t compare to the millions that NCAA, Coaches, Sponsors, private companies make off of these kids. Once their athletic career is done, most student-athletes only receive a diploma, pat in the back, and a spot in the unemployment line. I say give them $100,000 at the end of their four years. That’s $25,000 per year. This way, they are more prepared to go out in the real world and have enough save in case they don’t immediately get jobs. Some will blow this money but that’s their choice.
I say go after the NCAA with pitch forks. They are the ones in control of who makes money out of these student-athletes. Everyone besides the student-athletes are making money out of them. Sure they get full scholarship and good education but that doesn’t compare to the millions that NCAA, Coaches, Sponsors, private companies make off of these kids. Once their athletic career is done, most student-athletes only receive a diploma, pat in the back, and a spot in the unemployment line. I say give them $100,000 at the end of their four years. That’s $25,000 per year. This way, they are more prepared to go out in the real world and have enough save in case they don’t immediately get jobs. Some will blow this money but that’s their choice.
I say go after the NCAA with pitch forks. They are the ones in control of who makes money out of these student-athletes. Everyone besides the student-athletes are making money out of them. Sure they get full scholarship and good education but that doesn’t compare to the millions that NCAA, Coaches, Sponsors, private companies make off of these kids. Once their athletic career is done, most student-athletes only receive a diploma, pat in the back, and a spot in the unemployment line. I say give them $100,000 at the end of their four years. That’s $25,000 per year. This way, they are more prepared to go out in the real world and have enough save in case they don’t immediately get jobs. Some will blow this money but that’s their choice.
Crimson Nation
June 2nd, 2011
12:43 pm
Back at ya Atlanta87. The Newton jokes out of Athens shows desperation on their part. But then what do you expect out of a fan-base that doesn’t have anything better to talk about or remember other than 1980? Hope the Oak Trees will be okay. Bantering back and forth about who’s the better team in our state is a long-time tradition but one idiot resorting to that kind of destruction takes all the fun out of our great state rivalry.
DawginLex
June 2nd, 2011
12:45 pm
Spurrier should start cashing in on AARP benefits and go play golf.
Ole’ boy has got issues
GOLDMAN SACHS
June 2nd, 2011
12:46 pm
`
I thought $purrier and $aban were already paying their players.
.
Columbus
June 2nd, 2011
12:53 pm
It is definately a recruiting tactic for Spurrier and while there is NO way ot will EVER happen, if I were Richt, I would sign it for recruiting purposes. But them man is honest and had integrity and knows much more about the behind the scene and big picture than any of us so he doesn’t agree with it because he knows it will NEVER work so I respect that. But me? I would have signed it just in case it helped a little with recruiting and to avoid having to explain to recruits why I did not.
AltamahaDawg
June 2nd, 2011
12:54 pm
Spurrier didn’t start the discussion. Maybe jacked up some blog hits.
The reason this is even reported is because this was his odd input ABOUT a topic of discussion already on the agenda. Raising your hand and interruptiong a discussion in progress, isnt how you start a discussion . If anything, what he put out is a distraction from serious people trying to come up with a solution etched in reality.
Mike
June 2nd, 2011
12:58 pm
The value of a college degree cannot be measured. I don’t think players should be paid. Amateurism would be taken away. They are getting enough as it is – the ability to get a free education without having to make the grades the other 99% have to make to get in. My daughter had a 3.9 GPA out of High School, a hight SAT, six AP certificates and three IB certificates, plus activities. This is typical of what it takes the “ordinary” student to be admitted. The athlete gets in on grades and scores that are embarrasing. They get enough as it is …
Columbus
June 2nd, 2011
12:59 pm
No way coaches in ALL sports or small conferences could EVER do this. Spurrier needs to be slapped or something for this self-serving recruiting tool. Is he a genius or has he lost his mind?