Friday, September 20, 2019

ESPN looks at the $200 million the University of Georgia is spending to try to win a college football championship

ESPN:
In many ways, the motto might as well be "Spend More," because Georgia's administration seems determined to leave no stone unturned in the program's quest to end its long and frustrating national title drought.

...

From $174 million in facility upgrades, to spending more money on recruiting than any other FBS program, to paying Smart and his assistant coaches more than $13 million per season, the Georgia athletic department is making the financial investment many believed it needed to compete with Alabama in the SEC and with other traditional powers nationally.
Meanwhile:
California would allow college athletes to earn money from the use of their names, images and likenesses under a bill passed by the state Legislature on Wednesday and headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

...

But the NCAA has forcefully pushed back against the bill, saying it has the potential to kill amateur athletics if it becomes law. The NCAA sent Newsom a letter Wednesday calling the legislation “unconstitutional” and “harmful.”

“If the bill becomes law and California’s 58 NCAA schools are compelled to allow an unrestricted name, image and likeness scheme, it would erase the critical distinction between college and professional athletics and, because it gives those schools an unfair recruiting advantage, would result in them eventually being unable to compete in NCAA competitions,” the letter said.
And in other football news:
Detroit Lions legend Calvin Johnson said he smoked marijuana after every game of his NFL career to avoid the rampant abuse of opioids in the league.

...

Johnson now owns a cannabis company, Primitive, with former Lions teammate Rob Sims, and Locker Room Consulting, which is aimed at helping players with planning for their careers after football.