Whether or not college players should be paid has become quite the hot button issue lately, one which gained its most substantial supporter recently as University of Texas head football coach Mack Brown came out in favor of it.
Brown, the second-highest paid coach in the nation with a salary of $5.35 million, is at one of the most profitable schools in the nation, and he knows it.
Texas coach Mack Brown: “I do think players need to be paid. These players are killing themselves & at Texas last year we made $163M.”
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) July 24, 2013
While Brown is the most high-profile coach to make such a statement, he is not the only one. Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez, South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier, Maryland’s Randy Edsall have all come out in support of paying player for their efforts.
The debate over paying student-athletes has been accelerated as of late due to a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon. The lawsuit aims to have players receive compensation if their likeness is used to make profit for the program and has its origins in an NCAA basketball video game that included O’Bannon. So far the suit has been joined by six active NCAA athletes from major conferences, causing quite the stir in the NCAA offices.
While Brown alone probably won’t turn the tide in favor of the students, it is a major victory to have him on their side.