College Football To Pay Players

$100 Per Catch?

Jacksonville, Florida

By: Staff Writer, Joseph Miller

Colleges just don't get it.  Maybe they should be a little more cautious in releasing the record-breaking seating statistics.  The players may soon realize that they are the focal point and reason for the stadium attendance and profits and therefore want a share.  

The money is flowing into college programs at breakneck speed.  At a time when some European countries (Greece, Spain, Italy) are struggling financially to stay afloat, the college football programs are posting record profits.  I don't really believe that the college programs are more focused on increasing profits.  But, when the economy is in a downward spiral, statistics have shown that Americans spend more money on entertainment.  And, the SEC continues to be a major form of entertainment for many Americans.     

Case in point:  This weekend, the eight SEC games had a combined total attendance of 592,852. This figure amounts to 99.1 percent of all the available seating in those stadiums.  

Let's suppose that the average seat sold for approximately $50.  Multiplying 592,852 times $50 will result in a total seating gross revenue of $30 million.  So, just in the SEC, college football earned $30 million (THIS WEEKEND) plus the money already negotiated for the television rights.

What is even more amazing is that we have not even addressed the merchandising of hats, jerseys, t-shirts, buttons, badges, and other items that could be sold for cash.  Sponsorship dollars are even a larger portion of these football programs.  Seems like it won't be long before the players call for a financial share of these profits or at least some incentive or payoff for their performance on the field.  Even Head Coach Steve Spurrier believes that the time to compensate players has arrived.  But, his idea is to give the top players $300 per game.  LOL!

Here are the seating totals for the Southeastern Conference this weekend:

101,821   Alabama vs. North Texas


  91,946   Georgia vs. Coastal Carolina


  90,744   Florida vs. Tennessee


  82,000  Clemson vs. Auburn


  78,807   South Carolina vs. Navy


  69,861   Arkansas vs. Troy


  68,170   Louisville vs. Kentucky


  56,924   LSU vs. Mississippi State


  34,579   Vanderbilt vs. Ole Miss.
  
Notably, the FSU vs. Oklahoma game in Tallahassee attracted a record-breaking crowd of 84,392. 


So colleges, be prepared for the bargaining table in 2012.   




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