Carolina’s annual sports budget exceeds $ 100 million.

It is zero based as the UNC absorbs as much as it spends on full scholarships, coach salaries, recruiting expenses, operations and facilities, etc.

The income comes from donations to the Rams Club, ticket sales, lucrative TV payouts and rights from Learfield / IMG, which sells sponsorships to local businesses and large corporations like Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Until July 1 of this year, Tar Heel athletes could not get any of these inputs, as they were limited to sports scholarships covering room, board, books and tuition, as well as a little bit of money. additional pocket money called a participation fee.

When the NCAA was put in a corner by states that passed legislation allowing athletes to take advantage of their Likeness to Name and Image (NIL) and the Supreme Court challenged the so-called amateur code, the things got a little crazy.

The NIL era was born.

Now college athletes can make the extra money, and where it came from will likely make the rich richer.

The states of Alabama and Ohio already have star players earning six and seven figures from companies willing to pay these burgeoning stars to support a product or appear on TV wearing a logo shirt.

In the past, it was transactional without asking questions. Sponsors of sports programs could only pay schools or their beneficiaries (like Learfield / IMG).

Now athletes can make money too, and this begs this important question:

How can companies pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to UNC Athletics without paying anything to the athletes responsible for the success of the nationally and internationally known Tar Heel brand?

Isn’t it fallacious and hypocritical to continue doing the first without including the second? After all, athletes make Carolina athleticism great, don’t they?

It’s a fine line because schools need all of this income to balance the budget. If one of them were taken out to pay the athletes, their budgets could end up in the red.

Take Nike, for example. As the UNC’s largest licensing partner, Nike not only provides millions of dollars in shoes, uniforms, and clothing, but also makes a multi-million dollar cash payment that helps increase revenues for coaches of Mack Brown, Hubert Davis and most of the other 25 varsity coaches.

If Nike decides to shift the cash portion of its UNC investment to the athletes themselves, who wear the shoes and the Swoosh on TV, Carolina could lose a significant chunk of its operating budget. And Nike has long moved away from most traditional advertising, as college and professional athletes wearing their shoes sold more of them to adults and children across the country. When The Jordan Brand was part of this mix, the athletes of Tar Heel were more identifiable than ever.

So one day Nike might jump into the NIL business by telling athletes with professional potential, “We can’t sign you on a shoe contract while you’re still in college, but we can pay you to wear it. our shoes and clothes. , which you are already doing. And if you’re drafted by the NFL or the NBA, then we can talk about a bigger case. “

For small businesses that can afford to pay athletes as well, what should that look like? UNC would prefer that as many people as possible do something about their NIL rights.

Mack Brown said it from the start, “We’ve been looking really hard to find things that can benefit our whole team, because the Sam Howells of the world are going to close their deals and they are going to make their money. But the right guard backup; what can we do to help him? What can we do to share the money with all of our players? We believe this is more beneficial for our team.

Companies that make big sponsorship deals with UNC, we see their billboards in crowded stadiums and arenas and hear their advertisements on school radio networks, plus they get side seats to encourage these. athletes who make their teams great.

In the past, they could only spend six and seven figures to market their brand and products with sports programs that they deemed worthy of their money. But, if so, shouldn’t they feel obligated to pay a little something to the athletes who make their sponsorship so valuable?

Most of them will sooner or later realize that they are getting the end of the stick. This is why the talk of “unions” for varsity athletes always comes up.

Small business owners are usually fans of the local team, and if in the retail business they’ve probably made a lot of money over the years from football weekends, college students spending money. in their stores or restaurants or to potential professional athletes needing to have their car repaired or maybe buy a new car someday soon.

Fans show up for matches and cheer on their teams. Beyond those three hours, how many really appreciates the blood, sweat and tears that athletes shed each week? They could also sponsor an athlete on a modest basis.

Again, as always, it’s all about the money. Why am I spending it here, but not there? What “return on investment” do I have? Ultimately, large corporations that don’t start investing a fraction of their sponsorship dollars in NIL deals to pay athletes something – anything – will be seen as unworthy business partners.

And schools should start making it known that part of the commitment to their athletic departments should also include a base payment to athletes who start it all off when games are pitched, announced or faced.

“I don’t see the value of it.

“I’m not interested in doing this.”

“It’s not in the budget.

These are some of the most common answers to the question. But the only real excuse from someone who derives business and / or pleasure from varsity athletics is, “I really can’t afford it. “

And when you find out how low these offers are to pay some players on their favorite teams a few bucks, “I can’t afford it” is really just an excuse.

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