NCAA must forget concerns, and pay its players

CLEMSON — Before the ACC title game, the streets outside of Bank of America Stadium hummed with humanity.

Scalpers hawked tickets. Fans ate and drank while sitting on tailgates and underneath Clemson and Virginia Tech tents.

More than a few of them wore No.2 Clemson jerseys – representing their fandom for freshman receiver Sammy Watkins.

Plenty also wore orange T-shirts proclaiming “The Deuce Is Loose,” or with Clemson helmets emblazoned on the back, complete with Watkins’ trademark flowing dreadlocks.

And Watkins didn’t see a dime of the profits.

Make no mistake: Watkins will make money soon enough. Following a fabulous college debut that saw him earn national freshman of the year and All-America honors from multiple outlets, he is a virtual lock to turn pro two years from now, assuming he keeps up his current pace and avoids injury.

But he and other players are vastly undercompensated under the NCAA’s current system.

Watkins and his teammates are the engine that fuels Clemson football, the athletic department’s biggest moneymaker.

Clemson’s athletic budget is at least 53 million dollars; the Tigers will receive $17.5 million just for playing West Virginia in the Orange Bowl, although that will be split among the ACC’s 12 teams.

Offensive coordinator Chad Morris – the man who used Watkins’ skills to perfection in his hurry-up, no-huddle scheme – just signed a six year deal worth $1.3 million, making him college football’s highest-paid assistant.

His boss, Dabo Swinney, made $1.75 million this year; the ACC title triggered an contract incentive which will boost his pay to the average of the ACC’s top seven coaches, expected to be at least $2.2 million.

Watkins? He gets a scholarship, room and board. Oh, and some mileage-based travel money for the bowl game. That’s it.

This fall, the NCAA instituted a stipend which will pay players $2,000 per year, which doesn’t even cover the true cost of attendance beyond a scholarship, believed to run between $3,000-$4,000 per athlete.

Even this is being fought tooth-and-nail; this week, the NCAA announced that the measure will be placed on hold until next month’s national convention because 125 member schools have signed on seeking an override.

Many schools have concerns about paying every student-athlete, male and female, as would be required under Title IX.

The stipend’s fate shapes up as a battle between college athletics’ haves and have-nots; Clemson spokeswoman Cathy Sams said last week CU’s athletic department was one of the few nationally that is completely self-sufficient.

If that money is there, what is so wrong with plowing it back into paying the people that make it possible – the players?

Under the current system, even the smallest violation – even those out of a player’s control – can jeopardize a player’s eligibility. Ask Watkins, whose Orange Bowl status briefly came into question after a Fort Myers, Fla., promoter put his name on a flyer promoting a Christmas party without his knowledge.

Watkins will make money soon enough. But he’s also making money for Clemson now.

He and his teammates should reap more of the rewards.