What If the NCAA Capped Salaries for D-I Football Coaches?

More than 70 D-I football coaches earned more than $1 million in 2015. The median in this group was Kansas State’s Bill Snyder at $3 million, and the scale was set by Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh at $7 million.  For more, read this. If the idea of having a league cap salaries sounds strange, look at the NFL and NBA. Courts have repeatedly rejected player contentions that a salary cap is a form of price fixing that violates antitrust law. So, what if the NCAA capped all D-I football salaries [head coaches, coordinators, and assistants] at $ 4 million a year? Likely, this would survive antitrust scrutiny—after all, the NCAA caps lots of things, such as the number of football scholarships and the type and amount of compensation that players can receive. Would NCAA programs lose college coaches to the NFL? Consider that Nick Saban was not successful at Miami, and Chip Kelly might lose his job (yes, Jim Harbaugh is an exception). The NFL is not a robust labor market for D-I coaches. Also consider that most D-I schools are public universities. Although they do not use taxpayer money for coaches, there is something wrong when states cut university support while head coaches rake in millions a year. Finally, cable TV is fueling the coaching salary inflation … but younger viewers are pulling the plug on cable subscriptions, opting for ala carte or no TV at all. PS: Thanks to one of my students, Will Larsen, for suggesting this blog idea!