Unsigned Heroes: Varsity College Athletes Deserve to Be Paid

Throughout his tenure at the University of Southern California, Reggie Bush amassed 6,551 all-purpose yards and dropped millions of jaws. Before setting one cleat on NFL turf, the 22-year old had signed a $52.5 million dollar contract with the New Orleans Saints, including over $26.3 million in guaranteed money. Bush had also secured a record $5 million in endorsements from the likes of PepsiCo, Adidas, General Motors and Subway.

Despite these statistics, the most shocking number is the amount of NFL games Bush had to play to take home that fortune: 0. Coincidentally, that is also the number of dollars he was paid by the Trojans to dismantle Division I-A defenses across the nation. So why the discrepancy? Was USC unsatisfied with his performance, or do the Saints just like to throw away money?

Neither. And it's not as if USC was running a not-for-profit, charity football program. As a conference, the PAC-10 (of which the Trojans are a part) pulled in over $176 million in revenue in 2005. According to Robert Brown, an economics professor at Cal State-San Marcos, Bush alone was personally responsible for at least $500,000 in direct annual income to USC. This is no random estimate, but rather an amount derived from a formula produced by a two decade-long study of college athletes and their worth to their programs. The buck doesn't stop there, though. Brown's formula fails to account for indirect revenue effects, such as merchandise sales, which would further inflate that figure.

So are collegiate athletes enamored with philanthropy, willing to risk injury to pump millions into the pockets of university presidents and athletic directors? Doubtful. This raises the question on every worker's mind - when is payday? For these weekend warriors, the check is not in the mail.