Steve Spurrier reacts like only he can to landmark O'Bannon ruling
Steve Spurrier was asked Friday his thoughts on the game-changing decision by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken to rule in favor a group of plaintiffs led by former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon who wanted likeness rights.
In its ruling, the court issued an injunction which will prevent the NCAA “from enforcing any rules or bylaws that would prohibit its member schools and conferences from offering their FBS football or Division I basketball recruits a limited share of the revenues generated from the use of their names, images, and likenesses in addition to a full grant-in-aid.”
Spurrier’s long been an advocate for paying players and his reaction to the NCAA’s substantial defeat wasn’t in the least bit surprising.
Steve Spurrier: "We all thought O'Bannon was going to win didn't we? He had a good case."
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) August 9, 2014
Steve Spurrier: "You can’t use athletes to make millions of dollars and they get nothing. Wait a minute, that’s what we do isn’t it?"
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) August 9, 2014
Three years ago, Spurrier came up with a simple solution to paying players without costing the university or SEC a single penny. He offered to donate a little under $300,000 of his annual salary so that each of his 70 players would get $300 per game.
In a 14-game season, the total extra-benefits would equal $294,000.
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Alabama’s Nick Saban, LSU’s Les Miles, Mississippi’s Houston Nutt, Tennessee’s Derek Dooley, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and Florida’s Will Muschamp signed Spurrier’s proposal.
“I just wish there was a way to give our players a piece of the pie,” Spurrier said in 2011. “It’s so huge right now. As you know, 50 years ago there wasn’t any kind of money and the players got full scholarships. Now, they’re still getting full scholarships and the money is in the millions. I don’t know how to get it done. Hopefully there’s a way to get our guys that play football a little piece of the pie.”
SEC commissioner Mike Slive appreciated most of his coaches’ willingness to compensate players.
“The bottom line was that they support, as coaches, the concept of full cost of attendance,” Slive said.