ASHTON ELLIS
Staff Writer
According to Wikipedia, an “opportunity cost” is a phrase economists use to describe the cost of something in terms of an opportunity foregone. An example would be choosing to date a good-looking brunette instead of an equally attractive blonde because you (rightly) believe that the conversation will be less prone to digress into a discussion about the latest “Us Weekly” cover.
In the world of college football the most obvious opportunity cost occurs when coaches or players decide where to coach or play. For the players, the decision comes down to a balancing act between program prestige and opportunity to perform. For the coaches, prestige is a factor, but so is the pay. A review of some recent examples of the coach-player disparity in compensation for performance shows why the NCAA should find a way to pay the players.
For the better part of two years University of Louisville head football coach Bobby Petrino entertained just about every offer imaginable to leave his job. Faced with the possibility of losing his talented coach, the U of L athletic director made Petrino one of the highest paid coaches in the country. Now consider the likely fate of a Louisville football player who publicly acknowledged shopping his services to other NCAA Division I schools. If you think the player would be allowed to transfer to a different school because of a promise for more playing time or a shot at a national championship, you are seriously mistaken.
Assuming the player transferred, for any reason, he must sit out a season before playing a down. If he chose to stay, one wonders whether Petrino would be as grateful as the Cardinals’ A.D. was to him.
So coaches at premiere schools get paid premiere money; so what? Sure, the pressures are immense, and you are only a couple of bad seasons away from getting paid not to coach, but let’s pause for a second on another revenue stream that flows directly from players to coaches: independent endorsement deals.
Next time you watch a Florida State University football game see if you can spot the newest pair of Oakley sunglasses nestled across head coach Bobby Bowden’s face. Think a junior wide receiver could land an endorsement deal while still in school? University of Colorado wideout Jeremy Bloom tried, and was told to choose either school or the money. He chose school.
“So what?” you say. “These kids are getting an education for reduced prices and all the cafeteria food they can eat.” What’s there to complain about? For starters, full-time college athletes at premiere programs don’t have a life outside of school and their sport. Yes, some take advantage of the educational opportunities available, but bear in mind that those opportunities are only available so long as the player is worth something to the football program. And no, this isn’t like any other scholarship where you have to perform to earn your keep. When was the last time a religion major ran the risk of getting a “work-related,” life-threatening injury due to a collision with a 300-pound human with anger management problems?
No wonder so many athletes opt to study physical education or sociology; they don’t need the stress of a real major.
Financial pressures, just like the poor, will always be with us. But instead of pretending that players aren’t entitled to some of the money they help generate as indentured servants to their schools, programs, and television networks, the NCAA should get serious and share some of the revenue driving big-time college sports.
8-28-2006