I caught an interesting discussion yesterday on ESPN's PTI. (A great show by the way) It was about some way to pay NCAA players, who through their play generate millions of dollars for college sports programs all over the country.
OK, your argument against is these students are getting valuable scholarships, along with tutoring and you can't beat the travel and national attention which pays off in some big time pro contracts. Fair enough. For some.
But to my original point, the ROI for schools on scholarships is to be envied. So how about this idea? Let's say a star QB for a team generates a lot of money in the sales of his jersey. Or a premier volleyball player generates some significant cash for her school through merchandise sales. Perhaps a percentage of sales from all team merchandise can go into a collective pool for players.
Give them a percentage, akin to what the pros make for merchandising rights and keep the money in escrow in some sort of account that generates a fair rate of interest. When the player graduates or leaves early for the pros, the school cuts them a check. They're not as much getting paid, rather they are being rewarded for generating money for the school.
The NCAA generates billions of dollars in revenue from college sports. I do believe it's time for those responsible for the cash flow to get at least part of the revenue stream.
I'll finish with a fearless prediction. Bye bye Fiesta. The Cotton Bowl joins the BCS at Jerry's World.
I love college sports, especially football. But I also realize it's all about money so let's get real.
Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"
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