A $250M price tag: How SEC coaches will pay their football players

DALLAS — Within the third-floor convention space of the Omni Hotel, SEC banners cover the walls during the conference’s annual media days.

Plastered on one is the league’s iconic pinwheel of school logos. On another is a reminder of the SEC membership count: “Now, 16 strong,” it says. And on a third surface, the largest and most elaborate wallpaper stretches from floor to ceiling displaying the league’s trademark slogan.

It just means more.

While the catchphrase is mostly rooted in the conference’s passionate fan bases, in the impending era of athlete revenue sharing, it holds a most fitting significance: It means more money, a lot more.

In fact, according to estimates from many of the conference’s head football coaches, SEC schools are expected to spend as much as one-quarter of a billion dollars annually as a league on their football players, or about $15 million per school a year.

“Do the math,” Florida coach Billy Napier told Yahoo Sports. “We’re talking $20 million (in allotted revenue sharing). In most athletic departments, football is 70-75% of the revenue. That’s $12.5-15 million. That’s the number we anticipate.”

LSU coach Brian Kelly describes his expected football roster budget: “I’d say between $14-17 million.”

Can every school afford such a price tag?

“Everybody in the SEC,” he said with a smile.

Lording over this year’s media days — the four-day extravaganza comes to an end Thursday — is the historic concept permitting schools to directly pay their athletes. While the exact figure remains a mystery, athletic departments are expecting to operate with a revenue-sharing cap in the low-$20 million range when the model is implemented next fall.

How schools plan to distribute that money is coming more into focus. At least in the SEC, a majority of schools plan to earmark…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/a-250m-price-tag-how-sec-coaches-will-pay-their-football-players-142513338.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-18 14:25:13

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.