Big 10 Paying Players? Well, not exactly. . . . . .

I got a message from a good friend the other day asking me what I thought of the Big 10 plan to pay players. I had not even heard of such a plan so I went to scour sports websites to see what is up. Well, turns out they do not plan to "pay" players per say. It is simply a plan by the Big 10 to add an extra $3,000 per year to each athletic scholarship to cover basic living expenses. Predictably the SEC came out and said they are considering the same thing. There is no way the SEC is going to play second fiddle to anyone.

If I am an NCAA football coach in the Big 10 (or SEC) I love this. It certainly will not eliminate players taking improper money. Nor will it eliminate those who like to give that money. What it will eliminate is the justification for that money. You hear from those who both take and give that money that players have a hard time making ends meet. Their "free" time is taken up by team commitments and are thus not able to get a job to help.