I spent two years at Ohio State in the mid-1990’s getting a master’s degree and being duly initiated into the cult of Big Ten football, so I was disturbed to glance up from the treadmill in the gym yesterday afternoon and see ESPN report that OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four teammates had been caught selling things they owned to other people, for money.
Pryor is a 6-6″ 240-lb professional football player who was hired by Ohio State in 2008 on a four-year contract to be their quarterback. He works for head football coach Jim Tressel, who earns $3.5 million per year. Tressel reports to Athletic Director Gene Smith, who earns $1.2 million per year. Smith reports to President E. Gordon Gee, who earns $1.5 million per year.
Pryor was the most heavily recruited young professional football player in the country when he signed his four-year contract in 2008, the equivalent of Bryce Harper, the #1 draft pick baseball phenom who signed a $9.9 million contract with the Washington Nationals earlier this year. But because Pryor has the misfortune of living in America in 2010, where professional football is operated in collusion by the professional National Football League and the professional arm of the NCAA, he gets paid approximately $24,000 per year. Or, rather, he receives a voucher in that amount that can be exchanged only for room, board, and tuition to attend classes at Ohio State until he leaves for the NFL without earning a diploma. Pryor has no choice in the matter–the last guy who tried to get paid fair market value for his football services instead of tithing millions of dollars in free labor to the NCAA was OSU running back Maurice Clarett, who was released from the Toledo Correctional Institute earlier this year.
Pryor’s offense was to sell his 2008 Big Ten championship ring and a golden trinket that has been given to OSU football players every year since 1893 to commemorate their annual ritual humiliation of the University of Michigan. The word “his” has a slightly different meaning in NCAA world, translating roughly as “not his.” Pryor and his teammates have to return (to who?) the few thousands of dollars they were paid in exchange for the things they thought they owned. They will also be banned from participating in the Buckeye’es upcoming January 4th, 2011 Sugar Bowl matchup with Arkansas ha ha ha ha ha no, of course that won’t happen. Where do you think the million of dollars used to pay Tressel, Smith, and Gee come from? From events like the “non-profit” Allstate Sugar Bowl, which paid it’s three top executives $1.2 million last year. Sugar Bowl executive director Paul Hoolahan made $645,000, for directing a game that is played once a year. I guess the thinking is that’s chump change compared to the $20 million the Big Ten and SEC will receive, each, for sending teams to the “non-profit” game. Those millions of dollars come from advertisers who want to sell products to fans who want to watch Terrelle Pryor play football. So Pryor and his compatriots will miss the first five games of next season and be unavailable to compete against powerhouse programs like Toledo and Akron.
OSU athletic director Gene Smith, showing just what $1.2 million buys you these days, kinda sorta defended the actions of his unpaid professional football players on the grounds that, what with the economy and so forth, it’s hard to make ends meet when your employer doesn’t pay you any actual money in exchange for your extremely valuable services. I’m not kidding:
“The time this occurred with these young men was a very tough time in our society. It’s one of the toughest economic environments in our history,” he said. “The decisions that they made they made to help their families.”
Fortunately–and really, here is something for us all to be thankful for during the holiday season–the fact that Terrelle Pryor will presumably be shutting down his Terrelle Pryor-related football memorabilia business for a little while doesn’t mean that consumers of Terrelle Pryor-related items have nowhere to turn. You can still buy an Ohio State football jersey emblazoned with Pryor’s own #2 at the official online store of Ohio State university athletics for only $23.95 plus tax, shipping and handling.
That is, you can buy one if you actually get paid money in exchange for services at your job.
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{ 4 comments }
I’m quite familiar with Pryor’s career as I followed the story of his “college search” while he was a senior Jeanette High School in western Pennsylvania. I also attended the last high school basketball game he played; he led the Jayhawks to a state championship. I attended the game as research for a novel that I’m working on.
Pryor was as good at basketball as he was at football. He had originally committed to Pitt to play that sport, then changed his mind and decided to devote himself to football. He could have just as easily played for a national championship in either sport; he was a state champion at both.
The day I watched Pryor play basketball, I asked around for stories about him. One I heard was that he refused to sign copies of the Sporting News because he “didn’t like how they wrote about him.” I also watched his press conference with his coach following his last game, in which he sank a tie-breaking free throw. He played coy with the reporters on his choice of schools.
Terrelle Pryor to me is the epitome of a young man “majoring in eligibility.” He attends a university that allows degree credits to be given to him for participation in his sport. He is also not a team player; he wanted the money, knew the rules, and gave no thought to the consequences for his teammates. Any coach with integrity would have kicked him off the team or at least suspended him for the bowl game without the NCAA becoming involved.
I also wondered–why didn’t Pryor choose to play basketball? He could have left for the pros after a year in a high-profile program such as Memphis or Kentucky and made millions. It might have been easier for him to succeed in the NBA than to become a starting quarterback in the NFL. Instead he let his team down and cost himself millions of dollars in future earnings. He’s become the poster boy for the “dumb athlete.”
Football players, like other students, avail themselves of a college or university by learning, albeit a different set of skills. No one forces them to play college ball – they are free to sign a pro football contract at any time. And, if they are really, really good, some quit college early (or never go) and do just that. But most players need four more years to hone their skills, just as most high school graduates need more training to prepare for their careers. If we start paying players, maybe we should also start paying other students who raise the profile of a university, like outstanding actors and artists, those who publish in scientific journals, Rhodes scholars, and the like. Since these students likely will never make 7-figure NFL salaries, that only seems fair.
Good for you Kevin. We wrote something along the same lines a year or so ago (see the link). Jane S. Shaw
You have offered an interesting observation …
If I understand the argument, it is that the workers are not paid the same as the top echelon …. hmmm … I suppose that is the same argument when one looks at the tax rates and when the HedgeFund Manager classifies income as Capital Gains paying no more than the 15% rate while the middle class two-wage earners pays at 28% … or the CEO who gets payment in stock options plus Gold-plated health insurance and other benefits while the guy “on the line” sees his health insurance premium increase which reduces his earning powers.
Those may be factual observations, but that’s the way the rules are … so it is with amateur collegiate athletes who get nothing more than a college education plus room, plus books, plus private tutors, plus classes that fit the athlete’s schedule, plus recognition in the community, plus a heads-up on job opportunities … and a few — a very small few — will actually be able to “work” using their athletic abilities.
I don’t know the “full” Ohio State story … but having had some exposure long before your time, I am not surprised ( the school was always good to us … the first wedding gift that we received was from Woody Hayes.) In my days, players sold jerseys for $50 … and NOBODY ever sold the gold pants. There were hardships … yes, good athlete’s had to quit to support their families … but most did okay as “scholarship” students.
The “story” that I heard was that in the course of an investigation of a tattoo parlor, some OSU memorabilia was found … which makes a better argument … were the players really “looking” to make money and wanted to sell their items for profit — or were they coerced into selling some items when the opportunity arose ?
Nobody is more of a bigger Ohio State supporter than me, but the players “knew” the rules … the rules may be stupid … but they are the rules. But it’s like anything else that people do … they make bad choices … if you sat down any of the players and said if you do this you will be hurting the team and putting your career at risk, I suspect that they would say “Mr. Tattoo, please make me that offer after my eligibility is over.”
The penalty is harsh … too harsh … but at least this was violation of a stupid rule … not like Iowa’s Derrell Johnson-Koulianos who won’t be playing his team’s bowl game because of running a drug house … or that Team of North who violated study rules.
I hope the players come back next year … their professional careers (regardless if that is in football) will be better served by accepting the consequences … and hopefully, the NCAA will reduce the penalty …. heck, Troy Smith only missed two games for accepting $500 from a booster (and if you know anything about how tough it is to grow up being a Glenville Tarblooder, you know that those players face hardships. I know what I speak as I have worn a Tarblooder shirt)
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