Article in the USA today says Saban's contract $$$$ could spark congress to look at the tax exempt status of the athletic programs. Also states that Les Miles contract after 2007 ties him to other coaches salaries. 10 win season he has to be paid at least top 5 in SEC, MNC he has to be top 3 in country. link http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2007-01-03-saban-contract_x.htm
I see where you're coming from,(the anti Bertman no matter what camp), but I think he's right that they need to step in. This is COLLEGE football. This is not the friggin' NY Yankees here. Alabama has taken a huge step toward ruining the future of college football with this move. Smaller programs or programs whose fans aren't completely irrational can't afford this. This will sound extremely corny, but it really should be about the student-athletes more than the coaches. I think Bama will ultimately regret this move, but unfortunately, I think it will damage the whole system in the long run, unless something is done. Take a look at our facilities if you really think Bertman is such a cheap SOB. Everytime you bring this up, you fail miserably to provide any evidence to back yourself up.
I agree with you.........there is a limit and I'm sure SB see's the bigger picture where some of that money can be used elsewhere. He is a manager and I wouldn't want someone who isn't conservative to be writing checks.
On a different thread I posted something similar. Saban's new salary will prove to be a nightmare for college football. Most coaches now have various forms of "me too" clauses (one dollar more than; at least within the top 5; etc). Schools will be contractually obligated to start paying this scale of money. Does it now mean a mediocre is now worth a paltry one million? How will SEC teams like MSU or Ole Miss ever regain a footing? The salarly escalation is trending upward, in both percentages and absolute dollars. The latter will prove particularly difficult for many athletic departments. Going from $750k to $1.5m is one thing, the $4 million range is entirely different. Couple this with expanding facilities and assistant salaries whose escalation isn't chump change either. The national media has begun focusing on the NCAA and college football. The new Congress will certainly be more inclined to take up this issue.
Another thing is the "good" D1 programs. If they succeed while one of the "elites" has an off year, it will become nearly impossible for them to keep their coach. I'm not talking about the so called "mid-majors", but just a perennially decent team that has a great year. If a perennial BCS team goes 7-5, the decent team that had the great year loses their coach, the one who was building their program, and has to start over. Why? :thumb: $$$$$$$$$.
So where will Bama be after Saban falls on his face there? He's burned a lot of bridges with this move. Bama will be out a whole bunch of money when they finally realize that Bama of the 60s and 70s is a thing of the distant past. Too much parody in college football and esp. in the SEC.
I don't Saban with "fall on his face". He will have very good seasons at Bama and probably win the West a few times. The question is are Bama fans still so delusional that they believe nothing less than having 5 consecutive SEC Championships is acceptable. If they believe they should be playing for the National title every year, then Bama is destined to be in constant disarray.
It is what it is. I'm not alone in thinking that it's ludicrous for a baseball coach to be an athletic director in charge of a top football program. Saban might still be here if it weren't for the well-publicized differences of opinion between himself and Bertman. I think the Miles and Mainieri hires should turn out well. The football facility commitments were made pre-Bertman, and the improvements he's done are basketball and baseball related. The arguments have been rehashed over and over again.
