The college football world continues to react to yesterday’s news regarding the latest developments for the players union movement. The National Labor Relations Board ruled in favor of the College Athletes Players Association by suggesting college football players at Northwestern should be considered employees of Northwestern. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney reacted to the news following a practice on Wednesday, shaking his head at the latest developments.
“We’ve got enough entitlement in this country as it is,” Swinney said, according to The Post and Courier. “To say these guys get nothing totally devalues an education. It just blows my mind people don’t even want to quantify an education.”
The idea that student-athletes already get a free education has been contested before, but remains one of the biggest sticking points for those opposed to the idea of a players union. Swinney has long been adamant in stating players should not be paid, and according to a recent HBO Real Sports/Marist Poll the general public is on his side. Swinney goes on to explain his reasoning for his logic by saying he did not get in to coaching for the money.
“I didn’t get into coaching to make money - coaches weren’t making any money when I got into coaching,” Swinney said. “It’s what I wanted to do with my life, and I was able to do it because of my education. That’s what changed my life. That’s what changes everybody’s life.”
Swinney was given a huge bump in pay with an eight-year contract in January, paying him a reported total of $3.15 million in 2014 with raises in the following years maxing out at 3.45 million per season starting in 2016 through 2021. According to a database of coaching salaries compiled by USA Today, Swinney was paid $2.5 million in 2012, making him the third highest paid coach in the ACC.