Filed under: Dr. Boyce Money
The most profitable team in the country was the University of Texas, which posted a profit of over $68 million. If the players on the team and their families were compensated for the athletes' work on the field, the average player would earn nearly half a million dollars per year. Their coach, Mack Brown, earns over $5 million per year at a time when the rest of the university is facing significant budget cuts.
The profit margin for the leading six conferences is an astonishing 49%, more than nearly any professional sports franchise in the world. Much of this is due to the fact that the NCAA doesn't compensate it's players, which would be a labor rights violation in nearly any other industry.
There isn't much else to say about the NCAA and it's extraction of wealth from the African American community. While coaches buy mansions, expensive cars and yachts, many of the athletes have families who live in dire poverty. Congress should investigate the matter and also consider the fact that not forcing a professional sports league to pay taxes leads to a significant financial burden on the American taxpayer. The NCAA should be disbanded in favor of a business model that is more consistent with American values; a Chinese sweatshop couldn't be any worse.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.