Coaching for cash

A lot people get mad about how much college coaches get paid.  I don’t. They’re CEO’s of very lucrative businesses. (I can make arguments about overpaid CEOs but I digress).  Alabama wins. Alabama brings in huge money.  Nick Saban deserves a big check — just like the CEO of a profitable company.  Dan Mullen is now one of the richest people in Mississippi. Why?  Mississippi State is winning.  Fans are excited and money is now flowing in.  And then there is the fact that  the half-life of a college coach grows shorter each year. If you can put a winning and profitable product on the field, you should be rewarded. You probably won’t be doing it for long.

Of course, many people ask the very good question, “Why shouldn’t chemistry professors make big bucks, too?”  Well, they don’t fill stadiums.  Yes, it can be argued that in the scheme of things, what a teacher does is way more important. But we’re not a society that wants to be educated. We want to be entertained.  That’s what we value and the dollars follow right behind.  And until that changes, a person who entertains 100,000+ people on a Saturday will be showered with far more money than a person who educates that many in a lifetime.

Now, if that chemistry teacher figures out a way to entertain people while they learn about the periodic table, he or she will make a fortune. I’ve seen it happen in personal finance.