SoCal_Pony wrote:
I just think you are a mile off on this one.
Who cares if you can name 5, 10 or 30 players from UT NC season. Point is there are 50 schools that average some $300M in revenues over a 4-year period who in turn pay their FB/MBB players some $20M. Sure, some players contribute more than others, but what you are failing to acknowledge is the sheer magnitude of the dollars these schools collect. $300M or $500M, is that really worth debating?...it is a sweetheart of a deal for the schools no matter how you look at it, period.
Further, when you say, 'a few players like Manziel who are arguably "under-compensated",' ARGUABLY?, you kidding me? I am 100% convinced it JFB could have negotiated a contract with any employer, like all of us are able to do once we leave college, someone who have paid him 5 years $60M. That's on par with what Vince Young and Sam Bradford earned and they could only negotiate with the 1 NFL team that drafted them. Truth be told, JFB could easily have ended up making $75M over 5 years.
So cost to A&M for JFB's tuition for 3 years is $70k + other costs $80k = total cost $150k
JFB's earnings during 3 years in NFL if he could negotiate in a free market = $40M
$150k vs $40M....see where I'm going?[/quote]
JFB could not have earned $40M in the NFL.
1) NFL rules (not college rules) prevented him from joining a NFL team;
2) entering TAMU, JFB was not the "big" prospect. If the NFL took him as a true freshman, he would have been an UDFA that struggled to make a practice squad. In reality, he would have needed the NFL to create a minor league to have any chance. If salaries were comparable to MLB minor league salaries, TAMU was the better deal:
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/minor-l ... -mlb-mlbpa3) In part, his rise to a #1 draft pick and to becoming "Johnny Football" was because TAMU trained him, coached him up, and promoted him as Johnny Football.