Despite being a reported $8 billion in the hole, and needing to sell off roads, prisons, the cash cow liquor business, and ticking off every single state employee with SB5, Governor Kasich hasn’t made a peep about the payroll of the highest paid state employee- OSU Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel.
In addition to the original two-game suspension, Ohio State also said Tressel must pay a fine of $250,000 of his estimated annual salary of $3.5 million, must attend a compliance seminar, will receive a public reprimand and must apologize for his actions.
via Tressel wants to sit out 5 games along with suspended players [1].
Despite screwing up and risking the entire 2010 season to forfeiture because of NCAA violations- not a peep about cutting the coach’s pay. Either we’re hurting for dough- or we’re not? And- is he willing to forfeit his pay for an entire season for his failings?
Of course there is the argument that OSU football brings in millions of dollars to the state, and an entire economy is built around it- but, hey, $3.5 million per year? Where’s the outrage? Did collective bargaining get him this windfall?
The best part is his employees work for the state for room, board and maybe a diploma- with zero collective bargaining rights at all. Kasich loves slave labor?
And what about the highly paid College President at OSU- he clears over a million a year? And the former lobbyists and legislators who are making $300K a year (Joyce Beatty [2] comes to mind)- could we make some payroll cuts among the ratified air friend force on the state payroll?
If we aren’t well on the way to a plutocracy, I’m not sure what else to call it. Maybe we can start by stop calling Tressel coach- and instead call him by the title his pay and benefits amount to: King.
$3.5 million for a football coach? I don’t believe it.
Albert Einstein did not make $3.5 million in his entire life. Nor did Jonas Salk who cured polio or Nicola Tesla who electrified Niagara. Somehow are values are skewed here.
Dad,
Could the somehow be government involvement?
Does it make sense that we are all forced to pay for football coaches at all? Stop all public funding of collegiate sports! Less than 15 programs in the country make money…all the rest are money pits.
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/25/ncaa-report-shows-many-college-programs-in-the-red/
Jesse….While I share your sentiments about funding college sports, I don’t think government funding explains why Tressel makes $3.5M/year and Einstein, Saulk and Tesla did not. Ohio State football is a successful business. It makes so much money it funds the school’s entire athletic program and then some. 10+ times a year Tressel puts players on the field that thousands of fans pay to see in person and television networks pay to broadcast. He helps provide a product that is entertainment, joy and frustration for millions.
Einstein… not so much (Ironically his image is worth millions)…Saulk could have made money with his research but chose to give it away and Tesla made plenty of money selling his patents but was either a bad business man or a mad scientist depending on who you ask and blew most of what he made.
Jesse, surely you don’t mean just, “Does it make sense that we are all forced to pay for football coaches at all?” Don’t you really mean, does it make sense that we are all forced to pay for public colleges at all? After all, if you think that even our roads should be privately owned, surely you think that all our colleges should be private, too.
And joe_mamma’s right about Ohio State’s athletic program. The NCAA report cited in the article to which Jesse linked says that “Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Texas and Tennessee are among the select group that made money.” Kasich won’t cut Tressel’s salary because as outrageous as Tressel’s salary might seem, Tressel is part of a profitable machine. Even if we did live in the utopian Libertarian world in which government didn’t fund education, whoever owned Ohio Private University in that world would still pay Tressel whatever he wanted.
“Even if we did live in the utopian Libertarian world in which government didn’t fund education, whoever owned Ohio Private University in that world would still pay Tressel whatever he wanted.” David Lauri
David…I want to work for you!!!! If OPU paid salary that way they wouldn’t be in business very long.
Fine. Whatever he wanted within reason. You want a trillion dollars per year? Go frak yourself — even in Libertarian Bizarroworld we can’t afford that. You want a raise of $500,000 per year to keep you from going to Florida? Sure they’d consider it, wouldn’t they, because they consider him important to the profitable program he runs.
Along the same lines at UConn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xokthY5zuPU
http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/02/uconn-mens-basketball-not-12-m.html