The first installment of Channing Crowder’s show on WQAM in Miami, co-hosted by our buddy Zach Krantz, already has generated a couple of news items. First, Crowder talked about his reaction to those who hate and/or hate on him. Next, Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown, a guest on the maiden voyage, called in to talk about his future.
There’s one more worth mentioning, as partially transcribed by Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Talking about the issue of former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor selling his jerseys and other game-worn items, Crowder made this disclosure regarding his time with the Florida Gators.
“I’ll say hypothetically I don’t have any of my Florida jerseys,” Crowder said. “There were some Jacksonville businessmen who liked my play.”
Crowder sees no problem with players finding a way to generate some money, given the revenue they generate for their schools. And we agree.
“I know why [Jim] Tressel got in trouble. He was lying,” Crowder said. “But Pryor can’t sell his own stuff? It’s his!”
For now, Pryor can’t sell his own stuff because the NCAA says he can’t. But given the inability of schools to pay football players without paying all other athletes, male and female, one way to allow star athletes to generate revenue without running afoul of Title IX possibly could come from allowing players to sell their gear and/or their autographs and/or their names and/or their likenesses. All players, regardless of sport or gender, would have that right. Sign things, sell things, appear in commercials, get paid. The market determines who gets how much, and a loose sense of fairness would arise, with the players most responsible for filling the seats and raising the profile of their programs getting the most money.
Until then, Crowder’s comments further confirm that the only difference between guys like Reggie Bush and Terrelle Pryor and many other big-name, big-time college football players is that Bush and Pryor got caught.