Steve Spurrier Continues to Support Paying College Players
By Josh Sanchez
The SEC is set to soon launch their 24-hour television network with an announcement coming today. The network is going to be huge in terms of generating revenue for the conference through the media, so it should come as no surprise that part of the discussion on the revenue front will come back to compensating athletes for their performance.
No one has been as outspoken on the issue and as supportive of paying players as South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.
Spurrier once again stood up and banged the table in his effort to show support of the idea with the announcement of the SEC Network just hours away.
“As the commissioner and the presidents and the athletic directors all say, we are going to make a whole lot more money,” Spurrier said, via The State’s Josh Kendall. “My question is, ‘When are we going to start giving a little bit of it to the performers?’ Football and basketball players. It won’t do any good probably, but I’m going to still keep yelling for them. They bring in an awful lot of money for all of us.”
Spurrier believes that as revenue generated from the athletic programs rises the athletes should be given a chunk of the change that they are responsible for.
Quite frankly, we have to agree.
Athletes are putting their futures on the line when they step on to the field. Yes, they are receiving a free education, but one unfortunate injury could force them to potentially miss out on millions of dollars down the road, while the university is bringing in millions of dollars for their own benefit while the player sees none of that money. It appears to be twisted logic and very unfair, so it is nice to see someone like Spurrier standing up for the players.
This is a debate that will not be going away anytime soon, so we would like to hear your thoughts on the issue.
Do players deserve to be compensated for their play? Why or why not? Sound off in the comments section and share your thoughts.
[H/T: CBS Sports]