2018-09-04

Follow the money: college football

① America's college football season kicks off today.

② Across the country—but especially in the South and the Midwest—brightly coloured fans will fill massive stadiums (the University of Michigan's holds over 107,000) to scream for 18-to-23-year-olds playing the pre-professional version of American football.

③ The game is big business: television rights are worth hundreds of millions, generating huge sums for universities.

④ The highest-paid coach, Nick Saban of Alabama, made more than $11m last year.

⑤ To his fans, he is worth it, engineering a stunning come-from-behind win on the last play to take the national championship, his sixth, from Georgia in January.

⑥ The only ones who don't get paid big bucks?

⑦ The players: they are traditionally amateur "scholar-athletes", and are allowed to receive only tuition, room, board, books and a tiny stipend.

⑧ Most hope they might one day score a contract in the National Football League.

⑨ Most won't.

⑩ Hopefully they at least get an education.