The NCAA has been criticized for a lot of its practices because they seem unfair to student athletes whom the organization says it tries to protect. While the organization and schools benefit from college football rankings, which help them get into well-paying bowl games, the student athletes are supposed to be happy with getting a free education.
Since the NCAA is a non-profit organization worth billions of dollars, where exactly does all the money it generates go?
Coaches like Alabama’s Nick Saban, who is considered the best in the business at this point, earn about $7 million per year, which does not include the bonuses he receives for making it to the championship game or winning a national championship.
Saban’s assistants also make more than $1 million per season before their bonuses. Schools and their coaches also receive generous donations from boosters, which also adds to the obscene amount of money they make.
Things get even more complicated when you realize that the NCAA doesn’t have a problem with boosters like Nike, the apparel company, building schools like Oregon a state-of-the-art facility, but a student athlete that accepts a $20 gift from a booster is in violation of the organization’s rule and can be suspended or kicked off the team for accepting the $20.
On the other hand, regular students are allowed to make money while they are in school, even if they are on a scholarship like student athletes are.
University of Tennessee wide receiver Josh Smith falls into the group of students that can’t accept improper benefits from boosters and also isn’t allowed to endorse products. His girlfriend Brianna Dodd, is also a student at Tennessee.
Dodd became famous through her relationship with Smith and was named the hottest college football girlfriend of the season by Barstool Sports. While the award by Barstool Sports doesn’t earn her anything, she parlayed the fame into something that actually gets her paid.
Dodd became a spokesperson for Jolly Rancher candy and posted a picture of herself next to the Jolly Rancher mascot while holding a bag of the candy on her Instagram account.
When reached for comments, a spokesperson for Jolly Rancher said Dodd’s relationship with Smith had nothing to do with them hiring her to be a spokesperson for their campaign. Instead, she was chosen because she aligned with the brand’s passion sports, was a student at one of the colleges they targeted, and she had a strong social media following.
While the executives at Hershey, the company that manufactures Jolly Rancher, might believe their version of events, the truth of the matter is Dodd wouldn’t have been in the position to endorse their product if she were not in a relationship with Smith.
Dodd’s relationship with Smith was the reason she was selected as the hottest college football girlfriend of the season, which in turn increased her social media profile and led to Jolly Rancher hiring her as a spokesperson. If she wasn’t in a relationship with Smith, she would be another pretty face on social media.
Lost in all of this is the fact that Smith as well as other football players aren’t allowed to make any money off their fame while they are in college. But the NCAA is fine with everybody else making money from their fame, which doesn’t make a lot of sense.
