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If we're solely talking about underpaid, then the absolute peak value of a college football player at the top of the game is probably under 10 million. IMO, the

If we're solely talking about underpaid, then the absolute peak value of a college football player at the top of the game is probably under 10 million. IMO, the value of Saban is probably closer to 60 or 70 million[0], so he is more underpaid. Of course, the situation for players is a much more egregious underpayment. [0] Really hard to quantify, but comparing the revenue effects and higher order revenue generation of programs with elite head coaches to mediocre head coaches leads to this value.

moate 7y ago
Depends on how you're measuring. Saban is making about 8mil (lazy math) and you think he's worth 70. Let's go crazy, and say he's actually even more valuable, and worth 80 million. So he's making about 1/10th what he should, or 10% of his value. Best student athlete is worth 8 million. They make $0. They're making 0% of their total value back. The cost of the education is meaningless. It's all arbitrary and basically monopoly money costs. Oh, you're getting a full ride to a school that would normally charge you $50K? That's great, but it's not of real value in the same way that actual cash is. This is why I'm a big fan of California's move to allow students to take endorsements.