July 1st, 2021 saw a turning point for college athletes as NIL allowed them to profit off their name, image, and likeness. It didn’t take long for teenagers to start signing deals worth millions of dollars while also being paid by universities to play for them. Charles Barkley, while happy for them, doesn’t see the point in this from the colleges’ perspective.
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Back in Chuck’s era, collegiate athletes needed money for food stamps. Deloris, Michael Jordan’s mother, stated this during the ‘Last Dance’ and so it’s clear that colleges have been profiting off these players for far too long.
Of course, Barkley did admit to getting money under the table while he attended Auburn. “I got some cash from agents,” said Chuck in 2016. However, even nearly a decade ago, he was skeptical over how colleges could afford to pay players. “How do you pay the players? I’m waiting on somebody to tell me.”
Fast-forward to present day and Barkley still has the same doubts. While on ‘The Smylie Show’, Chuck spoke on how he doesn’t really see how colleges can make money back from paying players.
“That’s an unsustainable business model to come up with 10, 20, $30 million every year. If I’m going to have to pay a kid millions of dollars to be at Auburn for six months, I’m not getting any return on my investment.”
Chuck’s issue isn’t players getting paid but rather the obscene amounts for a one-and-done type of deal. While on the surface this may be a fair point to bring up, it can be argued against quite justifiably.
Colleges are allowed up to $20.5 million to be distributed to their athletes per school year. Out of this budget, 15% is allowed towards men’s basketball players. So, players aren’t getting paid the numbers Chuck presented.
Those amounts are more in line with NIL deals players like Cooper Flagg and Bronny James signed last year with outside organizations such as New Balance and Beats.
As for how colleges make money off players? Merchandise, TV rights deals, ticketed games, and investments from outside sources into their program. If the number one player in the country joins a university, even for a year, it gives faith in investors to want to invest in their program for future recruitments.
Chuck shouldn’t be demonized for his line of questioning. It is a great debate to have and to open up to the floor. The best way to put a bow on this would be to simply see if colleges are turning a profit since July 1st, 2021.
