College Basketball is great, no two ways about it. It has as much competitive spirit as any sport, athletes who will be in the big time in no time, and everything else you’d want… except compensation. John Calipari, coach at the University of Kentucky, earns a cool $4 million dollar salary. This Wildcat took his team to the final four with his amazing team. The top paid player earned a grand total of $0 between salary and product endorsements, but he made up for it with hustle.
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You can research the players college basketball lines, or just check out Billy Donavon’s roster at University of Florida (Go Gators!) He’s also earning a mere $3.5 million a year, but that figure lacks perspective.
Sure, college ball players get a scholarship, but let’s be honest, painfully few of them go on to use the (often partial) degrees they attain. They’re certainly not there to learn, they’re there to shoot.
Tom Izzo from Michigan State doesn’t have it quite so cushy, so he knows what his players are going through. He only earns $3.5 million per year.
Reached for comment, Izzo told Glossy News, “No! Hey, no! I did not agree to an interview. What the hell are you doing at my daughter’s ballet recital?”
That $3.5 million salary would only be enough to give 233 students a full scholarship each year. That’s an hourly wage of only $1,682, assuming he works a full year, which clearly he doesn’t. How is a family supposed to survive on that?
Some players have become so desperate they’ve allegedly resorted to attending classes and studying, some in fields that are in demand. We were unable to confirm these reports, but we did meet some lovely co-eds who invited us to a party later that evening, wherein we never felt older in our lives.
Much, much less on this story as it develops.