Buckeyes And Gators Wonder If They Deserve A Cut Of Bcs Cash

NT80 · January 7, 2007

Buckeyes and Gators wonder if they deserve a cut of BCS cash

By ANDREW BAGNATO, AP Sports Writer

January 5, 2007

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Playing in a bowl is no longer reward enough for some college football players: Some Buckeyes and Gators want a cut of the millions being generated by the championship game.

"We all deserve more money," Ohio State senior guard T.J. Downing said. "We're the reason this money's coming in. We're the guys out there sacrificing our bodies. We're taking years off our lives out here hitting each other, and we're not being compensated for it."

Instead, players from top-ranked Ohio State and No. 2 Florida received portable satellite radios and commemorative wristwatches, first-class meals and VIP treatment at posh resorts.

"I've got to admit, sometimes I look in my hand and look in their hand," Florida defensive tackle Joe Cohen said, referring to the Bowl Championship Series. "I believe players should get a little bit more than what they're getting. I don't want to sound like I'm greedy. It's just reality.

"I believe players should be paid, because I'm broke."

Cohen chuckled when he said it, but it's no laughing matter for the NCAA, which has steadfastly maintained that players -- or student-athletes, as the association refers to them -- are amateurs and cannot be paid. It's right there in Bylaw 2.9 of the NCAA Manual: "Student participation in intercollegiate athletics is an avocation, and student-athletes should be protected from exploitation by professional and commercial enterprises."

But bowls have become increasingly commercial. Fourteen different commercial logos appeared Friday inside University of Phoenix Stadium, where media day was held.

Bowl payouts have been mushrooming, too. According to the Football Bowl Association, this year's 31 bowl games will generate $210 million for NCAA schools. Over the last six years, bowls have paid schools $900 million, the association said, and it estimates bowl payouts will grow to $2.2 billion over the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix area expects to reap $350 million in tourism revenue from its three bowl games this year -- the Insight, the Fiesta and the BCS title game.

Plus, Fox is in the first year of a four-year deal that will pay the BCS $320 million for the broadcast rights to the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls from 2007-10 and the national title game from 2007-09.

Little of this money trickles down to the players. The NCAA has set a $500 limit on gifts they can receive from bowl hosts.

Some players shrugged when asked about the money they help generate.

Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, who won the Heisman Trophy, said he doesn't mind that others profit from sales of his No. 10 jersey, the garment of choice among Buckeyes fans.

"I think what you get is what you deserve," he said. "Thinking about getting revenue off jerseys right now, for me, is definitely not my thinking. That doesn't bother me at all."

Officials and coaches from Florida and Ohio State said paying players would not be practical.

According to 2005-06 U.S. Department of Education figures, Florida reported a total of 538 male and female athletes and said it spent $5.3 million on athletic scholarships. Ohio State reported a total of 996 athletes and said it spent $11.3 million on athletic scholarships.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said he heard questions about pay-for-play at the men's basketball Final Four in Indianapolis last spring, where the Gators won the national title.

"There's a philosophical side of the conversation," Foley said. "But there's a realistic side. I don't see how you have a system in place that just pays men's basketball and football players. Then it becomes just a pure dollars-and-cents issue."

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel agreed.

"Down the road, for the revenue-generating kids, there are careers out there," he said. "If you become one of the great ones, you can maybe generate some income for yourself."

Count Tressel among those experiencing a BCS windfall. He received a $200,000 bonus for leading the Buckeyes into the title game. If Ohio State wins, his current contract specifies he can negotiate a new agreement just six months after signing one that will pay him more than $2.6 million this season.

As the money pours in, the debate isn't likely to end soon.

"I can't sit here and say, 'Hey, I need more money,' because the money they're giving us for college, and money they're giving us for rent, the money we're getting for food is plenty enough for me," Ohio State sophomore linebacker Marcus Freeman said. "But you see people at the next level (the NFL) doing the same thing, and then you hear how many millions that the school is getting for playing in a game like this, and you're saying to yourself, 'Man, give us just a little bit more.' "

UNTflyer · January 7, 2007

"We're the reason this money's coming in. We're the guys out there sacrificing our bodies. We're taking years off our lives out here hitting each other, and we're not being compensated for it."

Uhh, how about the fact that you are getting a full ride at one of the best schools in America???

Four years at OSU for non-residents is $82,000, not including room and board. Not to mention the other benefits of being a football player.

I know there are kids out there who would become engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. and would do just about anything for the scholarship this kid is getting.

Edited January 7, 2007 by UNTflyer

FirefightnRick · January 7, 2007

An education means nothing these day to some people. Here in 10 years when their out there trying to earn a living the hard way let's see what they have to say? Everyone needs to work in a McDonalds or some other service industry, or work on a concrete or road crew for a summer. Tying steel or roofing houses between May and September would cure some of this Bull$hit!

Rick

good_ken · January 7, 2007

"We're the reason this money's coming in. We're the guys out there sacrificing our bodies. We're taking years off our lives out here hitting each other, and we're not being compensated for it."

Then he should have committed to OU or USC, they pay pretty well.

untbowler · January 7, 2007

"We're the reason this money's coming in. We're the guys out there sacrificing our bodies. We're taking years off our lives out here hitting each other, and we're not being compensated for it."
Uhh, how about the fact that you are getting a full ride at one of the best schools in America???
Four years at OSU for non-residents is $82,000, not including room and board. Not to mention the other benefits of being a football player.
I know there are kids out there who would become engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. and would do just about anything for the scholarship this kid is getting.

If i remember correct;ly no one is forcing these kids to play football, they choose to play and are compensated well. I would love to have a scholaship so I would not have 40K+ in student loans for my education.00.

UNTflyer · January 7, 2007

An education means nothing these day to some people. Here in 10 years when their out there trying to earn a living the hard way let's see what they have to say? Everyone needs to work in a McDonalds or some other service industry, or work on a concrete or road crew for a summer. Tying steel or roofing houses between May and September would cure some of this Bull$hit!
Rick

And that's what burns me about college football players. Yes, there is a vast majority that play football and study hard, and never play pro. But for those talented few, they take up space on campus for three years to showcase their skills, play three years, then skip out without a degree to go to the NFL.

I think that college players who leave early to enter the draft should be required to repay their scholarship to the university. Are they not in essence breaking a contract?

Green Mean · January 7, 2007

I know I am in the minority here but I do see where some players would feel the way they do. I dont know if it is still a rule but at one time if you were a student athlete you could not work and make money during the school year I believe.....a lot or most of these players dont come from the wealtheist of families and for many players not working is not an option. Dont get me wrong I dont think players should get paid like it is in the professional sports levels but maybe there should be more incentives and compensation to the student athletes....maybe giving them bigger scholarships with extra money so it can perhaps benefit their families and etc. In the end they are putting their bodies and futures on the line and risking injury. I know injury is on their own choice and will but i'm sure something can be done. Also I would tell all student athletes, especially from those major schools that finding a decent job after college should be not very difficult even if they slacked during college because so many players can get jobs through the alumni associations and etc. If you played football for UT and didnt make it into the NFL....trust me it wont be hard finding a decent professional job....trust me I know this from the grapevine. I guess these players need to just use half their brain and if they do they should not have a problem after college in finding a job and making money. Just my opinion.

GrandGreen · January 7, 2007

The fact is with HC's receiving multi-million annual salaries and the top of the pyramid schools having to have to devise ways to spend all the money that comes in, it is obvious that the players deserve to be compensated above the level of their scholarship. The problem is that the vast majority of schools can't afford to do it, and it would create an even more non-competitive environment.

UNTflyer · January 7, 2007

To allow the paying of players would forever cement the Big Schools stranglehold on college football. Instead of going to the best school or favorite school or a school close to home, players will go to wherever the money is.

Green Mean · January 8, 2007

To allow the paying of players would forever cement the Big Schools stranglehold on college football. Instead of going to the best school or favorite school or a school close to home, players will go to wherever the money is.

Whose to say they dont go after the money now? :blink: