Clemson HC Dabo Swinney speaks out on why he is against new rules that monetize college athletes
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney makes no apologies about how he feels about paying college athletes: He's against it.
Dabo Swinney explained why he is against paying college athletes.
"I am against anything that devalues education," Swinney said. "That's what I'm against. I am for anything that incentivizes education. People will come after me because I've always said that I'm against the professionalism of college athletics, and I am. Kids don't know what they don't know. That's a slippery slope if you professionalize college athletics, and now you've got salaries and taxes and you can fire kids on the spot and they've got to pay for their tuition and they pay for their housing and everything else."
Dabo Swinney is one of the highest paid coaches in college football. He makes about $8.5 million a year and is slated to make almost $10 million in 2023. Swinney had threatened to quit coaching if players were paid, but clearly, he hasn't.
Last year, the NCAA allowed student-athletes to make money off their name, image or likeness (NIL), and several big-name players like Alabama quarterback Bryce Young are making a killing off the NIL.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban has even hinted that Young is at the seven-figure mark with the money he is making through endorsements.
Nick Saban says Bama QB Bryce Young has already gotten close to 7 figures in NIL deals 😳
"[He] has already approached ungodly numbers, and he hasn't even played yet" https://t.co/D5v3iLzwan
The real reason Dabo Swinney is upset
Dabo Swinney also talked about how certain rules are outdated in an ESPN interview. He said:
"There's so much bureaucracy, and you can't get anything done in a real-time manner. It's frustrating," Swinney said. "The communication is not good, and the rules are outdated. Again, there have been a lot of positives when it comes to the scholarships. But you've got all these people voting on things, and it's just not apples to apples."
#Clemson HC Dabo Swinney does not want to professionalize college football
#CollegeFootball https://t.co/oAa4gc5WTI
So maybe the real reason Swinney is upset is that his team isn't benefitting from a lot of these these changes like the transfer portal and the NIL. While hundreds of college athletes are transferring across the country, many aren't going to Clemson.
Clemson's biggest rival, South Carolina, landed former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, which I'm sure didn't sit well with Swinney, who not only has to compete against his ACC rivals, but the SEC for players as well.
What may be hurting them is Swinney's attitude toward paying players. Just a few years ago, the Tigers won a national championship, and last year, they didn't even play for an ACC Championship or make it to the College Football Playoffs.
Clemson and Swinney seem to be losing ground to other teams around them, which is not a good look for him or his program.