College Players Get Paid

I really should put this on the rants and opinion page but I want to put here for this reason. Historical perspective. Paying players has been nothing new. It has been done under the table since college sports has existed. SMU from the 80's, Kentucky basketball with Eric Manuel, UCLA and Cal with Ronnie Knox. Booster and athletic directors says its necessary to attract top level talent to their universities. University Presidents don't want to admit.

All I have to say is this if Notre Dame is struggling then cheating is allowed until they start winning. NBC doesn't want to see a losing product, year after year. Since when can a college team sign a contract with a television company for broadcasting rights? Yet, these players on the field don't get nothing for it? Amateurism is for the eunuchs because if you had a girlfriend, she leave you in a hurry if you played for free but with consequences. Bear Bryant did look out for his stars and gave his Bear honey's a job network.

Joe Pa looked out for his players. They do it within the rules but he has built a resource to rely on without monetary means that newbees have to develop for at least 10 years. Jackie Sherrill who played under the Bear, well? Joe Pa, took over for Rip Engle in 1966. He was assistant to him for 16 years and his chief recruiter. I'm curious to know how he got Lenny Moore and Rosey Grier in 1952 to come to Happy Valley when they weren't Nitany Nation or had a winning program. Lot of racist schools like Pitt but Big 10 was king like Michigan State and Duffy Daugherty for black players. Penn State was independent. Hmm?

Once Penn State and Joe got famous, players came to him as well as the college professors and presidents for "advice." Not to down Joe but you look at all coaches who started programs like Bobby Bowden, Knute Rockne, Don James, and Lou Holtz. They paid up. That was true with programs that seen better days. It ain't cheating, if you don't get caught. But I'm like so what. I like paid football, the players play harder and are tougher because they are getting paid. Unless you are an academy that goes beyond winning, schools with other agenda programs just don't fit the amateur mold.

I can go on about Dana Bible, Howard Jones, Pop Warner (he sold players to baseball teams like Jim Thorpe), Wallace Wade, and others. But I will say that old Husky running back says in the 1926 Rose Bowl, he was promised money. Whether true or not, players deserve to be paid because they have always been paid. To bitter former interns like Tony Kornheiser, shut up. Even Hannah Storm got paid in college.