What's worse? $20M+/year athletes OR academically inferior college athletes?

[ajsmith365]

Originally Posted by Orangeish

Neither bug me too much. The demand for quality athletics, and the profit it brings is hard to ignore for Universities. The demand for championships, and the profits they bring is hard to ignore for professional orginizations.

I think the problem is people always isolate this fact "they get paid 15 million to play a game," but they ignore the circumstance that allows that to happen.

And, this is why I have a problem with academically inferior athletes - with explanation (I'll keep it simple).

I pay for Wash. Wizards tickets (I know, what a fool. The Wizards? Seriously?) every-so-often, along with 15,000 others 82 times per year so I guess the money is there. Not to mention, there is a TV market and sponsorship for it, so I don't have an issue with professional athlete's salaries. I will note, however, that I do spend quite a bit of money on my 8 and 4 year old's education. Not saying I'm better than anyone, just pointing out that I am willing to pay for education.

My problem with academically inferior athlete's is just that it is this attitude - by both school and athlete - that transcends the academic world and reflects our society. If I were a "LeBron James" who has been scouted by pros since 10th grade, I would go to a school that reflects my academic level. Not to be racial, but the NBA and the NFL are at least 70% black. There are so many HBCUs like Howard, Morehouse, Tuskegee, Grambling, etc. whose program could get the exposure if these athletes had committed to their programs. If you are good, the cameras will follow, so will the money, and so will other good players (thus, a really good team). This money would not only help win titles, but allow these Universities to build up their campuses and academic programs and help attract students of all races to their campuses. Why go to an Ivy-league school or the Duke Universities when you would not have gotten in off your academic merit. If you have the talent, the scouts will find you. It may affect your draft position - thus initial contract - but you will make your money if you have the talent.

From the University perspective, I think that it encourages/proves that capitalism trumps education and hard work every time. It proves that education is only important when you are in the 90th percentile (those with 3.9 GPA and a 1600 SAT score). Those in the middle - 90 percent of America - will always be average; thus, not intelligent enough for an academic scholarship but smart enough to fill a seat, pay $100K in student loans and enter into the workforce underpaid and in debt. I have yet to see Oprah Winfrey, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien or Ellen continually book teachers, firefighters or business analysts on their show unless there is some drama behind their situation (9/11, or some "Lean on Me" type of situation). I have yet to see these media wh--es focus on Tiger Woods' Stanford degree over his golf swing. Oprah's OWN network has a a show called "Master Class" where Jay-Z, for Christ's sake, is giving your kids advice on making it in life. Jay-Z: self-proclaimed drug dealer, slickster and "greatest rapper alive" (but, I'm sure Nas would have something to say about that) is giving children advice on being successful? I guess all of the teachers, business analysts, day care providers and police officers turned down an invitation to appear on the show.

[jdm2008]

Originally Posted by ajsmith365

My problem with academically inferior athlete's is just that it is this attitude - by both school and athlete - that transcends the academic world and reflects our society. If I were a "LeBron James" who has been scouted by pros since 10th grade, I would go to a school that reflects my academic level. Not to be racial, but the NBA and the NFL are at least 70% black. There are so many HBCUs like Howard, Morehouse, Tuskegee, Grambling, etc. whose program could get the exposure if these athletes had committed to their programs. If you are good, the cameras will follow, so will the money, and so will other good players (thus, a really good team).
If you have the talent, the scouts will find you. It may affect your draft position - thus initial contract - but you will make your money if you have the talent

And they should go to these schools and sacrifice this money why? To make you happy?

[ajsmith365]

Originally Posted by jdm2008

And they should go to these schools and sacrifice this money why? To make you happy?

Not to make me happy, just making a point. I'm already happy

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Johnbiggs

Some of the bitterness people harbor towards athletes really astounds me.

Tell me, does it keep you up at night that Bill Gates has all that money? How about Steve Jobs? The Fords? I'd guess not, because they made their money selling products that people want. Why are athletes any different? If there is a huge consumer demand for their product, don't they enjoy the same rights as all Americans to reap the financial rewards of said demand? Unless, of course, you're a communist who believes that the government should tell you how much money you "deserve" to make. Except maybe for public funds for stadiums, athletes don't take any money out of people's pockets that the fans don't willingly give them. It doesn't affect me at all that Kobe Bryant signed a $ 100 million contract; he does his thing and I do mine.

As for college:You do realize rather than cost the university money like most students, athletes make millions of dollars for it? I don't see why they shouldn't be given special consideration if they benefit the school in ways that I don't. Besides, football and basketball players are a small minority of the yearly freshman class. If your kid didn't get in, it's probably not because some jock "took his spot".

I've tried to avoid bringing the discussion here on this forum, but after analyzing people's comments in various media outlets and websites, it's really starting to look like people's problem is rooted in the fact that they see a group of people they view as their social inferiors making more money than them and flaunting it.

Sometimes I too have wondered why people get bitter about the money pro athletes make, when they don't seem to begrudge movie stars or rock singers their millions. My best guess is that a lot of sports fans like to think of athletes being regular Joes like them, who made it big living the dream all sports fans had growing up. Sports fans may recall their childhood dreams of starring in the pros, and feel that simply being there would be so much a dream come true that it seems greedy to want to become a multi-millionaire for the privilege of living that dream.

The other thing is that you really have to go back only a generation or so to be back at a time when most professional athletes, all of them except the stars, made salaries no higher than what a solidly paid professional in the general workforce would make. Show business stars have been getting rich for a long time, while it still may be a little too much of a change for athletes to make the bucks they do, in the view of those old enough to remember when a lot of athletes still really were sort of regular Joes.

As for the question of the thread, I have a much bigger problem with college athletes who don't cut it academically than with millionaire pro athletes. Despite the fact that I feel I have some understanding of the resentment people feel toward pro athletes, as I explained in the above paragraphs, I personally don't begrudge them their millions. I view it simply as a reality of mass marketing. Pro sports happens to be an industry where a lot of people pay for a service provided by a very few, so there's lots of money going to just a few. That's economics, and I don't resent athletes for this.

With college athletes, I don't have a problem with admitting Slam Dunk Sam who had a high school GPA 2.4 and scored 1400 on the SAT. I'm fine with the idea that colleges want to have a well-rounded student body, and admit students with various talents in order to achieve this goal. What I do have a problem with is situations where colleges do not expect athletes to maintain the standards usually needed to remain in college as a student in good standing. This is an insult to the value of education.

I'm also concerned about those athletes who never make the pros--the vast majority of college athletes--who get four years of glory while getting an easy ride academically when college administrators look the other way about academic failure, then get dumped out into the world without the education they were supposed to get in college. Seems to me these kids just get exploited by the colleges. This second part, about athletes being exploited by colleges, is not about resenting athletes of course, since my concern is that the athletes are being mistreated. It's another example, though, of why it's not a good situation when big-time college athletes are not expected to make the grade academically.

[Spookmeister]

Just for fun, let's look at some numbers.

For Longhorns, Money Grows on Football Program Instead of Trees

Now, let's break this down into something we can dispute all we want. Say, Texas has 100 scholarship football players, that cost the school a Stanfordesque $50,000/year for their education, room and board. Assuming they stay four years, that's $200,000.

Now onto my elementary school math. The school grossed $87,500,000 but only a meager $65,000,000 of that was profit, so we'll go with the lower figure for my purposes. We'll just write off the $22.5 MILLION as operating expenses, no big deal, chump change.
So @ 50K/football player, the 'education' of a football player costs the Longhorns a whopping.....$5,000,000/year, which comes out of the ANNUAL PROFITS, leaving the school with a paltry....$60,000,000!!!
Let's factor in graduation in 4 years for attrition and replenishment of the talent pool. Since the annual budget is still for 100 scholarships, 5 MILL, it doesn't matter how many do graduate or just quit. Their expenses are transferred to an incoming class for balance.
Now to the middle school math. Several (x) leave as juniors, doesn't matter the number, it's a saving of 50K * X,or as Sophomores making it 50K *2X, adding to the PROFIT column, which some of you might say is fuzzy math because it's going to be used for another scholarship football player, but let's go with my logic for now.
Said early leavers have made an even greater name for the Longhorns, as if that's even possible, and created such a buzz, that even more of the bright eyed, gifted athletes want to 'attend'. I have no idea what the value of that buzz is to UT, but we'll assume it's in the GAZILLIONS, long term. This is where it gets complicated for me. High school math is tough!!!
Remember that assumed $200K for a four year education? Well by my HS calculation, that athlete generated $60 MILL/100 = $600,000 ANNUALLY, IN PROFIT ALONE, even if they didn't stay all four years, not even accounting for their share of the 'buzz factor' which follows them for years after they've left. Don't forget, the season is four months long, so to be fair, we factor in the fact that the football player has to work out the other eight months of the year to produce in four. Aside here, I'd like to hear of a firm that would sneer at spending $50K/year to generate $600K/year, in profit


Now we get into the Wall Street math, skipping the college version for obvious conflict of interest issues.

I have to admit, it's beyond me to calculate that impact. Someone told me it's normal for companies to be valued at 9 times their operating costs.
Even if every Mr/Miss 3.9 GPA and 2000 SAT score becomes Gates or Jobs,it's years down the road before they become valued benefactors of their alma-mater and drop $100 MILLION into the coffers. Meanwhile Mr. football scholarship continues to contribute their declining share of the 600K annual profit. Retro Earl Campbell jerseys are still filling the college fund as we speak and last I saw/heard he was running Elgin's finest sausage factory, injuries and all. Think of that multiplier effect and how it impacts the overall finances of the school. Band, Orchestra, mascot,swimming, softball and volleyball don't generate anything to sustain themselves, so where does that money come from?

Professional athletes, different story/breed altogether. I'll tackle that when I have more of my wits about me, when I do.

[texdav]

Bascailly I am not bugged by either. It is what it is in a free world.