BCS Championship Game: The Tressel Contract Clause
Posted January 4th, 2007 by George Thomas
I'm coming to the conclusion that this sportswriting gig is a lot of hurry up and wait. The objects of our obsessions make us hurry up, then make us wait endlessly to get what we need. In some instances - like today - it was worth it.
It was during that wait mode that I checked out a left coast delicacy that I didn't need - In -n- Out Burger. I read it was a favorite of some Buckeyes players. Now I know why - heaping amounts of beef and suitable amounts of greasy stuff. Yup, the arteries will pay for that one. In the brief time I was gone, however, one of those little nuggets popped up in the form of OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith. He was holding court outside the team's super duper secret practice facility.
What was the topic of the day? Well there were several, but the one that kept coming up was that monster contract that Nick Saban - the Larry Brown of football - agreed to with the University of Alabama today. Eight years? 32 mill? Think ADs at Big Boy Football Schools aren't sweating those dollars?
For the record, Coach Tressel downplayed Saban's money grab (yes, that's harsh, but if he knew his heart wasn't into coaching the pros, he should have kept his butt at LSU) and he doesn't expect much of an influence. Of course he can say that because if his team wins Monday he's in the driver's seat as far as contract negotiations.
"Probably not. We didn't have a budget of $4 million for the entire athletic department (when he first started,)" he said. "I don't think it will have a ripple effect. There aren't that many positions yet to fill, and there will be as many people saying, 'Oh, that's crazy we'll never do that' as there will be people who feel they have to keep up with the market."
If you say so, coach.
