With $8 Million on the Line, People Should Be Paid For The Services They Perform

Nice report on the brass tacks implications of a missed field goal for Boise State:

"Eight million dollars would have come to the WAC if he makes the kick," Benson said. "That's the reality of it."

The Rose Bowl, like other Bowl Championship Series games, touts a per-team payout of $17 million. For teams like Boise State and others in one of the five conferences without an automatic bid, the payout is $12 million, Benson said. Boise State figured to gain $3 million, the other WAC teams would have split $5 million, and the four other second-tier conferences would have split $4 million.

Instead, Texas Christian of the Mountain West Conference is going to the Rose Bowl. Boise State will get part of the $1 million payout in Las Vegas, and the WAC will get a fraction of T.C.U.'s reward.

And of course with all these millions of dollars on the line, the workforce expects to get paid. So the coaches do get paid. And the athletic directors get paid. And so do lots and lots of other people associated with the high stakes game of college football. So why aren't the players paid? Well, because the schools have gotten together and formed a cartel that's agreed that nobody should be paid. And if you want a shot at playing professional football, you need to play for the cartel first.