Roy Williams made a boatload of money for coaching North Carolina to victory in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, concluding with a win over Gonzaga Monday night.
How much, you might ask? Nearly a cool million, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, who rightly points out the stark contrast that bonus money is compared to the money not seen by the players who actually participated in the contest.
Roy Williams got $925,000 in bonuses for Carolina's NCAA Tournament performance.
The players got awesome T-shirts and hats.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) April 4, 2017
This is great news for Williams and his family, of course. It’ll certainly lighten the burden of supplying the much talked about sports jackets Williams is famous for wearing, too.
But it does highlight the absurd amount of money that this amateur sport generates for the schools, the television networks and their partners. Yet the young men who actually shed their blood, sweat and tears for the honor of standing atop the heap after the tournament concludes never see a dime of it.
This bothers some people, while others will point to scholarships and the free education the student-athletes receive in exchange for their roster spots.
We’ll let you make your own call there.