The Art of Bread Hunting

"Hold on dawg! They gone pay me what?"

Former ITT CEO Harold Geneen once said, “In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” The old playas from around the way always said it like this, “Fake it ‘til you make it homeboy.” Big Momma just kept it real by saying, “Baby, if you put in the work God will bless you for it.”

With the coaching carousel spinning at full speed boyz are jumping on it and getting paid in the process. Bret Bielema left Big Ten champion and Rose Bowl bound Wisconsin to go to Arkansas for major bread. They're going to pay him $3.2 million per year which is $600,000 more than Wisconsin was paying him. Multiple mid-major cats have accepted jobs at major programs like Kent State’s Darrell Hazell who is taking over at Purdue. He was making $300K at Kent and now Purdue is filling him up with $2 million per. Louisiana Tech’s Sonny Dykes has taken over at California for what looks to be a major upgrade in salary too. Then boyz like LSU’s Les Miles threw his name in the hat just to force LSU to pay him more to stay! Complete genius move I must say!

In my Puffy voice, “It’s all about the Benjamin’s, baby!” For you young cats that are confused, that’s P.Diddy in a former life! It’s all about getting paid well for what you do, especially if you are responsible for generating revenue. I can hear some cat in the background that is enraged because teachers don’t make the bread that coaches do. He’s screaming, “But look at the amazing job they do!”

 I completely agree that they have been under valued and under appreciated. However, I don't believe that they should be paid more than people that have a direct impact on generating revenues.  I strongly agree that they impact our children's lives and help build the future leaders of this country but I always ask the question, "Where will the money come from to pay them." Teachers are paid with federal and state funding, that means tax dollars homeboy. If people aren't willing to pay higher taxes, then teachers can't get higher salaries. It really is just that simple! Coaches are paid out of the universities athletic department that generates major bread as a result of this cat coaching his tail off and building a brand that people will BUY into!

Nick Saban is worth every bit of the $5.16 million dollars that he’s making at Alabama because he’s not only selling tickets but he’s selling national TV rights to Alabama games, every ancillary product you can think off with Alabama’s name on it. Not to mention all of the money that he's helping to bring into the local economy on game weekends. When the school is winning there is a direct correlation to alumni giving as well. I’ve seen statistics that show where freshman enrollment goes up more that 30% after a national title and Alabama is on the verge of winning it’s 3rd in a span of 4 years.

According to the Huffington Post here are the top five programs in revenue from 2009-2010:

1) Texas; Total Revenue: $93,942,815 Total Profit: $68,830,484
2) Georgia; Revenue: $70,838,539 Profit: $52,529,885
3) Penn State; Revenue: $70,208,584 Profit: $50,427,645
4) Michigan; Revenue: $63,189,417 Profit: $44,861,184
5) Florida; Revenue: $68,715,750 Profit: $44,258,193

Keep in mind that these guys are making this money in a span of 4 months bruh! Once again, I respect the job that teachers do all over this country because my mother is a retired school teacher. My sister is currently a middle school teacher in Houston as well. However, just because the professor and the coach work at the same university doesn't mean that they should make the same type of bread. They serve completely different roles and are paid out of two different baskets.

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! When the professor lectures on Friday there won't be 90,000 people paying an average of $92.00 per ticket to see him or her do their job. It also won't be televised and the final exam doesn't pay the school $17 million (BCS bowl win or lose) at the end of the semester. There won’t be folks spending money all over the local area in restaurants, hotels and bars adding to the economy when he or she shows up to work. So before you jump off of the roof for the teacher keep in mind that they chose that profession and it wasn't for the bread! I always hear folks fighting for the plight of the teacher that don't teach. I can hear Bielema, Hazell and Dykes pulling up to work now bumpin' that Lox, "Money Power Respect!"

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Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport