Sports Daily: Getting Paid Edition
 

Something about this just doesn't feel right.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith has been awarded an $18,000 bonus because a Buckeyes wrestler won an individual national championship.

According to TheRepublic.com:
Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset"> Smith signed a new contract this year that pays him a bonus for "exceptional athletic achievements," including Final Four and Bowl Championship Series appearances or titles won by individuals in any of 20 sports. </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Logan Steiber -- the 141-pound champion -- of course gets to keep his scholarship and will carry the memory of his victory the rest of his life. Those things are irreplaceable and don't hold monetary value. But that's probably a good thing, because extra benefits or rewards for Steiber's accomplishment could put him at risk for receiving impermissible benefits. Permission to profit off athletes like Steiber, however, is something Smith decided to grant himself in his contract.

If Steiber was to graduate and rocket to a career with NASA, would his science professor get a boost in pay for overseeing his greatness? I think we all know the answer to that. Gene Smith, however, gets to fatten his wallet with the equivalent of an extra week's pay while the rest of us debate the legitimacy of college athletics compensation.

Sound Off: Should school administrators be allowed to receive extra benefits for individual and/or team accomplishments?

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Re: Sports Daily: Getting Paid Edition
 

I subscribe to the notion that college athletics should be amateur and that a scholarship should suffice for the athletes.

But it gets harder and harder to maintain that belief when administrators "earn" bonuses based off of those athletes and nearly every NCAA event is overrun with corporate sponsors and advertisements.

In no way shape or form should Gene Smith - or any other AD, he's far from the only one I'm sure - be allowed to receive extra compensation for an athlete's accomplishment, especially when that athlete isn't allowed to cash in. The NCAA is overdue for a drastic overhaul.

What's wrong with administrators doing their jobs? Why else would you hire them, if not to heighten and better your athletic department? Maybe allowing for bonuses across all sports keeps them from just focusing on football.

And as far as paying student athletes, no one said you had to play college ball in the first place. There are numerous places to go if you want to be a professional athlete. No one is forcing them to go to college. Kids from high school can go to the development league and draw a paycheck. The NFL has their share of players who never played college ball. You can be drafted straight from high school in baseball. Hockey too. Slippery slope, should we start paying high school students? Same principle, just less money coming in. These kids want the biggest stage at all times. They subject themselves to this environment. And they know full well what they're getting into. If you don't like it, there's your ball. No one is guaranteed nothing in this lifetime. And sometimes people are never fully compensated. Consider it a life lesson.

So you might ask, what about the mega-atletes that make programs? How come they don't get paid? Well, they do. And it comes in form of draft positions. That's when they get paid. College offers them the exposure to heighten their draft stock. Why do you think 90% of all professional athletes play college ball in the first place? Baseball, it's to better their draft stock, or become a better player. Which sounds strikingly similar to everyday business professionals. I didn't get paid while going for a finance degree. Going to the D-League in basketball probably DQ's you from being a top 3 pick. But there have been international players taken #1. Long story short, there is no one forcing these kids to play college sports. Saying that their university are soley benefitting from their play is short-sided. The issue is, there's money. And someone always wants their cut.

Uhh... braves_94 which NFL players never played college football? In past 30 years i can think of one notable one and he still went to college and played D1 basketball. Antonio Gates. If you wantto have a shot in the NFL, then you have to go through college. Obviously there is always an exception, but in this case the exception accounts for .1% of NFL players at best.

In the case of college football, yes the university is benefiting off the players. Have you seen the revenue numbers for college football lately?? In Texas A&M's first SEC season, the football team alone made $120 MILLION. Who was the main attraction that season??? Johnny Manziel. Had they not had him, not beat Bama and not beat OU in the Cotton Bowl, are they making that kind of money? Ok, so maybe the revenue wouldnt drop off drastically but it would drop off. I would venture to say under 100 Million. In other words, theoretically, Manziel alone brought in nearly 20 Million to the school.

Agree with everything said LowerWolf. And you hit the nail on the head as I'm sure Smith isn't the only AD getting paid for athlete's achievements. Would have liked the writer from the Columbus,Indiana Dispatch to do a little investigative journalism and see if AD's from Notre Dame,Purdue,and IU get something similar. My guess is yes.

Another example for you, braves_94. Florida Gulf Coast, the tournament darlings of last year. After their spectacular run in March Madness they started recieving attention from prospective students like they had never recieved. Admissions went up by nearly 25%! More admissions, more money for the school. Did the student athletes recieve anything for bringing in this attention? Nope. Let's not stop there, the student athletes also got their coach a new gig and a giant contract! He bailed ship for USC. His performance rewarded him with a nice big new contract while the student athletes who played the games got....?? Anybody? NOTHING.