Front Porch FootballProblems with Paying Players in College
by Brendan Paschal
The National Collegiate Athletic Association might be the most corrupt institution in the United States. There is no doubt that the System is Broken. However, the multi-billion dollar industry might be too powerful to take on. The State of California started the push to change that. In a unanimous decision they passed the Fair Pay to Play Act. However, paying players in college could create bigger issues for collegiate athletes.
The Problems with Paying Players in College
The first solution that came to mind was paying athletes a stipend. When I was in college I worked two jobs to make a buck. Because I was only in class 15 hours a week – and had the flexibility to adjust my class schedule accordingly – I could work two part-time jobs. College athletes don’t have this luxury. From the moment they wake up until their head hits the pillow at night they have something on their schedule. Early morning lifts, breakfast, classes, lunch, more classes, film, practice, homework, and approximately five hours of sleep before waking up and doing it all again tomorrow. There is absolutely no opportunity for a job in their schedule.
Problem with Stipends
It would make sense to give athletes a monthly allowance. They work a full-time job anyway. Why not let them have a few bucks in their pocket to get a late-night-pizza? There would be a cap at how much colleges could pay to prevent blue blood programs from taking advantage of this during recruiting. It wouldn’t matter if you were the star quarterback or second string on the women’s tennis team. A flat fee would be spread out evenly among players. I’m pretty sure I just laid out the platform for college-level Communism…
The problem with giving players a stipend is the expense. Besides football (and basketball for some) all other athletic programs actually lose the school money. In other words, colleges are paying more money to field a soccer team than what that team earns. If it weren’t for football, most schools couldn’t offer half the scholarships for other sports. Furthermore, the revenue earned from athletics is already budgeted down to the penny. It would be close to (notice I said close to and not actually) impossible for most schools to find the money to give their players a proper stipend.
Fair Pay to Play
Normally when I see that California passed a law I chuckle, think to myself, “what fruitcake tried to do yoga in the middle of a highway this time,” and move on. Not this time. The State Assembly approved Fair Pay to Play with a 72 to 0 vote. By unanimous decision, the California Legislature agreed that college athletes should be allowed to hire agents and make money from endorsements. This seems to be best option.
If a player is as good as he or she says, then he or she should be able to use their likeness to make money. This will happen all throughout the country. Starting quarterback at Ohio State? Awesome, here is a deal with Skyline Chili in Cincinnati. All-American running back at Auburn? Great, the folks at Region’s Bank in Montgomery want to talk to you.
In fact, it will even happen at the smaller schools. Let’s look at my alma mater for an example. Wofford College is a small, private-school, located in Spartanburg, SC. With approximately 1,600 students it is one of the smallest Division 1 programs in the nation. Although Wofford athletics make a lot of noise in the Southern Conference, and have been known to upset FBS powerhouses from time to time, they do not have many athletes make that next step into the pros.
That being said, they have a strong and loyal fanbase throughout the state of South Carolina. There are a ton of alumni and local businesses, especially in Spartanburg, who would instantly reach out to Wofford athletes for endorsements. You don’t think the folks at Sugar & Spice or Wade’s wouldn’t love to have the star Wofford quarterback on a commercial?
It Will Not Be Enough
But take a moment and think about the athletes who are going to be sought out for endorsements. It’s not the third string safety who will never go pro, but rather the stars.
Although Fair Pay to Play is a great start, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn’t solve the entire problem. At the big-time programs, the same fraction of athletes who will go on to make millions playing professional sports will be the same ones receiving endorsement offers from their local Chevy dealers. Sure, only two percent of college athletes go pro and there are a ton of colleges that don’t have professional prospects that could benefit greatly from this, but what about the backup who won’t see any of that kind of money?
And guess what, despite what our marketing and admissions department says, there are a ton of colleges and universities similar to Wofford throughout this country. But aren’t the stars still going to receive the majority of offers? The star first-basemen, the quarterbacks, and the point guards will still be the ones most sought after. So instead of the two percent who go pro, we will expand it to the seven percent of college athletes who people know by name. That isn’t changing much. The backup at Alabama and the backup at Wofford aren’t seeing a penny while still putting in the long hours.
More Opportunity for Corruption
Big time colleges are notorious for paying players under the table. The most famous was Southern Methodist University. Ron Meyer and Bobby Collins let that program spiral out of control to the point of driving it straight into a “death penalty” handed down by the NCAA. And it all happened within ten years. SMU went from a nobody in 1976 to suspended in 1986.
This could be the future of college athletics. Big-time donors could easily reach out to the top-recruit in the class and offer absurd sponsorships. Many say that the top prospects are getting this money under the table now. But what if it was out in the open? What if we just let the market place run recruiting? Imagine what it would look like for programs that emphasize football over studying. Alumni and fans will be throwing millions to 18-year-olds. Soon, donors will try to get the competitive edge and offer juniors in high school. Well that will quickly turn into offering sophomores. So on and so forth until we’re looking at a 7th grade kid, who hasn’t hit puberty yet, with a multi-million dollar offer when he signs with a university in five years.
Too Much Pressure for Kids
It’s hard enough for a kid to pick the right program to continue his or her athletic career. Universities try to woo and impress them with flashy practice facilities, posing in uniforms, and giving them field access passes. Sometimes, when a decision is based on those types of things, the decision turns out to be the wrong one. Transferring from one school to another has already spiked over the past few seasons. Let’s throw in sponsorships to this already toxic relationship.
Imagine a high school football recruit agrees to sign with a program based on the agreement that he will receive $300,000 in endorsement money. Yet, once he arrives he realizes he won’t get to play until his junior year and wants to transfer. Does the sponsorship go away? Does the contract become void? Who is offering guidance in this process? Attorneys? Agents? Mom? That crazy uncle nobody lets near the grill? In many ways, because all of this payment and bribery to recruits happens under the table, it’s easier to regulate.
It’s like the Mafia. When was the Mafia at its most peaceful? When nobody was removing the leadership and nobody was shedding light on the underworld. They monitored themselves. If somebody was scamming someone that didn’t deserve to be scammed, they dealt with it (to a certain degree, not advocating for the Mafia). Right now, the big-time boosters are operating in the dark. “Legalize” paying players and recruits and all the sudden things change. And when things change on people with a lot of power and a lot of influence, nothing goes according to plan. In the short term, it will result in a lot of 17 and 18 year old kids getting hurt and being betrayed.
