Re: Anybody not agree with Robinson lawsuit?

I agree there should maybe be a small stipend. There are some people who attend Clemson for free because of their grades and they are still struggling to make ends meet just like the athletes do, but there are video games and all kinds of memorabilia that people make money off of. There are a ton of #10 jerseys in the stands every Saturday but because it doesn't say "Boyd" they don't have to pay Tajh a penny.

That being said, a small stipend of just a couple hundred dollars a month could be allowable. These guys shouldn't be able to just get several grand every month because of who they are. Who knows what it gets spent on? In my mind give them enough so that they can afford to go out to eat and buy things that they want and live a comfortable college life. But give them too much money and all of a sudden they will be like mini NFL players, blowing thousands on tattoos and shoes and lord knows what else.

I am also on both sides. As a rising junior at Clemson I am looking square in the face at $50,000 in student loan debt upon graduation. That is a sacrifice I am willing to make to get my degree and follow that career path that I want, but the players don't have to worry about that. They can major in whatever they want, take whatever classes, and either take advantage of a free education or screw off for 4-5 years as long as their GPAs stay at a level where they can stay eligible, many people don't care. I am jealous. I wish I had the talent to have a scholarship and get a degree for free, but I don't.

It is hard to be one-sided when you see both sides. Most of us that are not getting free school have to take a full course load but are able to work if we want to or need to. The players have to take 4-5 classes per semester, plus tutoring sessions, workouts, practice, games, and everything else. That gives them next to no time to have a job.

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A different perspective

Jul 23, 2013, 7:56 AM

http://college-sports.findthedata.org/l/13417/Clemson-University-Football

Clemson University Football

The Clemson University Football program is sanctioned by NCAA Division I-A and has a total of 113 male athletes. The men's Football team combined have 1 head coach(es), 9 assistant coach(es), and total revenues of $31,730,042, total expenses of $17,992,943 and profits of $13,737,100.

The roughly 80 scholarship football athletes generated $14MM per year in profit for the school. This is after expenses (i.e. scholarships housing, etc.) are removed. That equates to $175K profit per player. You as a general student generate the following revenue (not profit)

Nonresident Full Time (per year)
Tuition and fees* — $30,826
Room and board — $8,142 (approximate)
Books and supplies — $1,112 (approximate)
Total — $40,070

I used the non-resident tuition and board for comparison. Even at a 10% profit margin (well above average) you would generate $4K in revenue for the school as a general student.

Now lets look at your question again and see who's being treated fairly. You generate 4K for the school per year. A football player generates $175K, roughly 44 times more than a general student. Can you now maybe see why they expect some additional consideration. Especially when you look at anything promoting Clemson football and see nothing but uncompensated players on billboards, numbers on jerseys, (you bought that #2 jersey because 2 is your favorite number right), etc.

It's an unfair business model and players are beginning to realize this. I think, before too long, you will see a disassociation of college football and the student body. It will just become an NFL farm system with paid athletes at the elite levels.

I'm not saying I support this model, I'd prefer the more traditional student athlete model but to be honest that's been dead in football and basketball for a long time. However the amount of money flowing into university football programs on the backs of essentially unpaid students won't be ignored much longer. If you were generating $175K for Clemson per year you'd want your cut too I suspect.

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Anybody not agree with Robinson lawsuit?