Coaching Suspensions Should Include Additional Salary Penalties

Head coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes
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Head coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel was suspended two games and fined $250,000 by the school for not being forthcoming about information related to high-profile players selling their memorabilia to a local tattoo parlor owner who was caught up in a federal drug trafficking case.

The penalty could increase if the NCAA finds that Ohio State's actions are not enough.

Here's my proposal.


The Major League Baseball season is 162 games, but the per day salary is based on 180 days. So if a player is suspended for a game, his total salary is divided by 180. In the NBA, there are 82 games, but the per day salary is based on 110 days.

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Although a college football coach has a year round job, I think it's fair to divide coaching salaries by 15 for purposes of prorating. Tressel makes about $3.5 million, so that means he'd lose $233,333 per week missed.

Under my proposal, for missing two games, his fine then should be more in the $460,000 range. If the NCAA raises it to five games, which is the amount of games his players involved are missing, he'll lose $1.17 million.

Trust me, if suspensions equal money lost, coaches will think more about hiding information.

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