Mario Cristobal’s latest helper hire Bryan McClendon got a special exemption from the hiring freeze because, you know, sports. Coach Cristobal paid his previous employer $50K for the right to hire him. And of course he gets free tickets and travel for spouse/partner, car allowance, bonuses for this and that, etc.
But, in what I believe may be a first for athletic contracts, AD Mullens included a clause saying he can cut the bonuses and salary because of the pandemic:
Full porkalicious contract here.
Informal student-athlete “union” emerging in the P12 with a list of demands that strike me as reasonable, though I am sure Mullens is less sympathetic:
“Things they r asking 4 is 50/50 rev share, 6 yrs insurance upon graduation, better Covid-19 testing & protocols etc etc…The player led group is being spearheaded at Cal Football & they have been holding phone calls with other Pac12 teams..There is some kinda of players only meeting/vote that will be taking place shortly.”
https://247sports.com/college/oregon/Article/Pac-12-players-threatening-to-boycott-season-California-Oregon-USC-UCLA-Arizona-State-149309979/
Flagship can’t claim they weren’t aware of player discontent. A few weeks back, a BOT member said during a teleconference that 75% of CFB players were African American, and many are fed up getting nothing while their athleticism was supporting the entire college sports structure. JH seemed to have ignored the message.
It looks as if that anger has become evident. Several years ago, Northwestern U football players attempted to form a union in order to have some say in their lives. Unis smashed that uprising, and apparently learned nothing. Now, the nation may finally be forced to grow up and realize the price these young men pay, and no longer are willing to endure. If so, the P5 is finished as currently configured
Sharing $100 million revenue 50/50 is $500k each for 100 scholarship football players. Not bad for a 3rd-string bench warmer!
I think sharing royalties on merchandise with their image or number is more reasonable–the stars get some cash, the scrubs get a free education.
Is it more reasonable that Mullens and his army of AD lackeys get the money?
It is a simple proposition: Those who create the value should receive all or nearly all that value.
I’m all in favor of the players getting their cut. The money will come out of the coaches salaries and the subsidies athletic departments pay for mostly white sports like golf, tennis, swimming, crew, etc.
More likely more schools will join the club of “heavily subsidizing athletics with tuition dollars”. If James Madison pays $35 million a year right now to athletics, what’s stopping them from making it $50 million and making a poor student work another night shift to afford the increased tuition?
I think much of the value comes from the team being part of the university. Minor league players in other sports make almost nothing because revenue is almost nothing. But somehow universities have been fine getting no direct benefit from the massive revenue they have created. I think players should receive additional compensation beyond a free education, but I think they misjudge what percent of the value they create. If they went off an started their own league, separate from the university, how much could they charge for tickets?
Doesn’t matter what we think, players are in charge. Every year, 32 high school football players, out of the million or so high schoolers who participate in the sport, are designated 5 star recruits. If they organize to the point that they want all players, including scrubbies, paid, or we will withhold labor, unis won’t have much leverage.
As I pointed out, Northwestern footballers tried to form a union because they were employees, rather than students. Too bad the institutions, fans, alums didn’t recognize employee rage. The solution might be getting rid of massive admn bloat in the AD, where strength coaches and OCs receive hundreds of thousands of dollars, and functionaries receive more than that, and most of the money going to the guys who make it all happen….
Companies holding capital tend to be pretty ruthless eliminating labor that causes problems. Sure, teams want the best players, but ADs want the hundreds of millions of dollars. I think it is pretty clear who would win that battle.