The aptly named “Gurley Bill” has passed a vote in the Georgia House of Representatives and now moves on to the Senate.
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Every Georgia fan remembers where they were when they heard about Gurley’s suspension for profiting from his autographs last season. It was a nightmare for Dawg nation and it definitely made a huge impact on college football and discussions on paying players.
Now House Bill 3, sponsored by UGA alum Rep.Barry Fleming, has passed in the Georgia house and is making its way to the Senate to prevent things like this from happening again. The bill would give harsh penalties to anyone who knowingly has a transaction with a student athlete that can jeopardize his or her scholarship.
As great as that all sounds can we address the real issue? I have never played football on any level. I have done nothing to help any college football player achieve their success; however, I can make more money on their name then they can. Does that sound messed up to anyone else?
Pay the players. Please do not say “they get to go to school for free.” Many students get full rides and much less is required of them and are able to obtain part-time jobs for income. Football players are not offered this option.
The NCAA makes on average $871.6 million a year. If they took a ten percent of the earnings and divided it evenly across all 120 FBS teams and 85 scholarship players each player would look at about $8,700 per year. I think the NCAA can afford to pay the kids who make them rich a small piece of the pie.
Then we can have our lawmakers concentrate on other, more important, issues.