Is a College Coach’s Salary Justified?
December 11th, 2008 - byIts a tough economy these days, unless you are a high profile football coach. Take a look at Alabama Coach Nick Saban pulling in between $5-4 million this year while his “bosses,” Alabama President Robert Witt and Gov. Bob Riley earn $611,000 and $105,000 respectively. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about the two fundamental differences in 
the pay scale.
The first is simple supply and demand. With all due respect to the many great teachers, it’s easier to replace them than Mr. Saban, Ohio State’s Jim Tressel or Penn State’s Joe Paterno (who makes a paltry $500,000 a year).
“The talent that Saban, Tressel and other coaches have is relatively scarce,” Phil Miller, an assistant professor of economics at Minnesota State University, Mankato, wrote on The Sports Economist blog. “On the other hand, the talent it takes to teach effectively, for example, at the collegiate level is more abundant. So the price of coaching talent is much higher than the salary obtained by most professors.” Or, as legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes once told an antisports prof: “I can do your job, but you can’t do mine.”
The other problem with the salary comparison is that Alabama taxpayers aren’t paying Mr. Saban, and so his salary doesn’t take any money away from professors. One of the benefits to come out of the rampant commercialism of college athletics is that media conglomerates and sneaker companies are willing to pay huge sums for the broadcast and apparel rights. Thus, Mr. Saban will be paid out of Alabama’s $70 million athletic budget, with little or no impact on academic departments.
However, does this set the wrong precedent? Shouldn’t coaches either accept a pay scale more in line with their peers or move on to the professional leagues? On the other hand, don’t they justify these salaries by bring the university money in endorsements, post-season revenue and prestige? What do you think?
