Belichick’s salary is not merely greater than the salary of the governor of North Carolina. It’s actually greater– FAR greater– than the salary of all 50 governors combined. It’s not merely greater than the salary of the President of the United States.It’s actually greater– FAR greater– than the salaries of the President, Vice-President, all cabinet officers, and all Supreme Court Justices COMBINED. If this seems preposterous, do the math…
The best story about Fred Levin was the pass he intercepted one day in September and ran back for a touchdown. On Monday everyone was congratulating him for this great achievement. Levin hung his head and said it was a terrible mistake. The game was broadcast on radio, his mother heard the game and was highly critical of Fred for playing football on Rosh Hashanah.
I love this column! You are hammering on one of my top three pet peeves. NCAA Division I sports has become a cesspool, an abomination on the original concept of college athletics. I join you in praise of the Division III model. (Full disclosure: As a Wittenberg alumnus, this is my heritage.) Love the nurturing of the true student-athlete role championed by the "egghead eight" and the "nerdy nine"!
And thanks for calling out UNC's despicable trajectory. What a sellout! I don't know what kind of an educator Nick Saban was at Alabama, but at least he had the good sense to escape the NIL/portal madness when he saw that he would have to abandon integrity and principle to maintain his performance level.
I only hope my other alma mater, Michigan State, holds onto its premier athletic educator of principle, Tom Izzo! And Bob Knight is surely screaming from the crypt.
Agree that $10 million is outrageous, but in some programs some players make that much and have no resume. Bigtime athletics is not totally incompatible with academic excellence. Witness Stanford, Michigan, Duke, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, to name a few.
As for pay for professors, governors or presidents, I’d say that we are overpaying in all categories. My daughter (a physician, retired) is the mayor of Summit, NJ ,spends 10-14 hours a day and is paid nothing. No expense account, nada! She does the job because she loves the town and fills a need. Summit is getting far more for the money than we are from higher echelons of government.
Finally, many bigtime programs pay for the non-revenue sports with the money from their football and basketball teams income. That doesn’t justify $10 million, but many CEOs are paid far in excess of Belichick and think they are worth it. Go figure.
From reader Michael Zuckerman:
Belichick’s salary is not merely greater than the salary of the governor of North Carolina. It’s actually greater– FAR greater– than the salary of all 50 governors combined. It’s not merely greater than the salary of the President of the United States.It’s actually greater– FAR greater– than the salaries of the President, Vice-President, all cabinet officers, and all Supreme Court Justices COMBINED. If this seems preposterous, do the math…
From reader Jeffrey Weinsten:
The best story about Fred Levin was the pass he intercepted one day in September and ran back for a touchdown. On Monday everyone was congratulating him for this great achievement. Levin hung his head and said it was a terrible mistake. The game was broadcast on radio, his mother heard the game and was highly critical of Fred for playing football on Rosh Hashanah.
From reader Terry McDaniel:
I love this column! You are hammering on one of my top three pet peeves. NCAA Division I sports has become a cesspool, an abomination on the original concept of college athletics. I join you in praise of the Division III model. (Full disclosure: As a Wittenberg alumnus, this is my heritage.) Love the nurturing of the true student-athlete role championed by the "egghead eight" and the "nerdy nine"!
And thanks for calling out UNC's despicable trajectory. What a sellout! I don't know what kind of an educator Nick Saban was at Alabama, but at least he had the good sense to escape the NIL/portal madness when he saw that he would have to abandon integrity and principle to maintain his performance level.
I only hope my other alma mater, Michigan State, holds onto its premier athletic educator of principle, Tom Izzo! And Bob Knight is surely screaming from the crypt.
From reader John Owens:
Agree that $10 million is outrageous, but in some programs some players make that much and have no resume. Bigtime athletics is not totally incompatible with academic excellence. Witness Stanford, Michigan, Duke, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, to name a few.
As for pay for professors, governors or presidents, I’d say that we are overpaying in all categories. My daughter (a physician, retired) is the mayor of Summit, NJ ,spends 10-14 hours a day and is paid nothing. No expense account, nada! She does the job because she loves the town and fills a need. Summit is getting far more for the money than we are from higher echelons of government.
Finally, many bigtime programs pay for the non-revenue sports with the money from their football and basketball teams income. That doesn’t justify $10 million, but many CEOs are paid far in excess of Belichick and think they are worth it. Go figure.
Great column.