Bob Stoops: College athletes are paid quite often, quite a bit and quite handsomely

Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops is one of the highest-paid coaches in sports — not just collegiate athletics. His roughly $5 million-per-season salary ranks him among some of the most legendary coaches in NCAA, NFL, MLB and NBA history. He has brought a lot of money to the university, but so have the players.

The topic of collegiate athletes being compensated for their work beyond just receiving a scholarship has been heavily-debated over the past several years. Many people feel that schools should just go ahead and start paying the players, while others feel a free education is more than enough. Stoops is a strong advocate for the latter theory.

“You know what school would cost here for non-state guy? Over $200,000 for room, board and everything else,” Stoops said during an interview with The Sporting News. “That’s a lot of money. Ask the kids who have to pay it back over 10-15 years with student loans. You get room and board, and we’ll give you the best nutritionist, the best strength coach to develop you, the best tutors to help you academically, and coaches to teach you and help you develop. How much do you think it would cost to hire a personal trainer and tutor for 4-5 years?

“I don’t get why people say these guys don’t get paid. It’s simple, they are paid quite often, quite a bit and quite handsomely.”

While it might sound silly coming from a guy who makes millions every year, Stoops actually raised a couple of valid points. He probably should have stopped there, because what he said after that was absurd.

“Sam Bradford was one of the most humble and grounded players I’ve ever been around; he got it,” Stoops said. “But I even told him, what makes you think those fans in the stands are wearing No.14 for you? Who says it’s not an old Josh Heupel jersey? I tell our guys all the time. It could be you — or it could be anyone else.

“Those 70,000 fans in the stadium are cheering and buying tickets to see Oklahoma.”

The Yankees don’t have their players names on the back of their authentic jerseys, so why does Robinson Cano get paid when a No. 24 jersey comes off the shelf? How does the team know the person buying it isn’t just a big Tino Martinez fan? It’s one thing to say players are compensated enough with scholarships and special treatment on campus, but let’s not go that far. The school makes millions off people purchasing merchandise that has star players’ numbers plastered all over it. Stoops should have stopped at his first point.

H/T Dr. Saturday