After the announcement of an agreement between the Southeastern Conference and ESPN to create a 24-hour television network Thursday, South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is taking the opportunity to again make the argument in favor of paying players in college football. The SEC's television network will provide its member institutions with another boost in annual income, and it is an added revenue stream that has become almost a necessity in order to keep pace in the major-conference cash competition.
"As the commissioner and the presidents and the athletic directors all say, we are going to make a whole lot more money," Spurrier told GoGameCocks.com. "My question is, 'When are we going to start giving a little bit of it to the performers?' Football and basketball players. It won't do any good probably, but I'm going to still keep yelling for them. They bring in an awful lot of money for all of us."
ESPN is partnering with the SEC on the network, which may increase payouts to each SEC school by $1.5 million annually, according to a USA Today study conducted in January. Between the network and the new playoff system, SEC schools could potentially see a significant jump in payouts in the coming years.
But, with an increase in profits to each program, Spurrier laments the argument for paying the players responsible for creating much of the profit-generating content. However, SEC commissioner Mike Slive has been vocal of his opposition to this idea.
Spurrier has been a familiar face within the Southeastern Conference. He was a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback for the Florida Gators in 1966 before returning to his alma matter as a head coach in 1990.
After a short stint with the Washington Redskins from 2002-2003, the "Old Ball Coach" returned to the SEC to revive a struggling South Carolina program in 2005. Under Spurrier, the Gamecocks have seen their greatest amount of success in school history.
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