Jim Harbaugh assesses state of college sports: 'People come to watch the players'

When it comes to the idea of revenue sharing, Jim Harbaugh has been the most vocal coach in college football. That was again the case on Saturday during College Football Playoff national championship media day.

Multiple times over the last year, Harbaugh called for players to get a slice of the pie during the NIL era. Most recently, after the final CFP rankings reveal, the Michigan coach said “don’t forget to give them a share” during his interview on ESPN.

Saturday, speaking with reporters ahead of Monday’s national title game, Harbaugh assessed the state of college football and again asked why players can’t benefit from revenue sharing.

“Once again, no real thoughts on the state of college football. No question it’s evolving, a lot of changes are happening. The one I can’t figure out is why the players aren’t sharing in the revenue, why that change hasn’t occurred,” Harbaugh said. “People come to watch the players. They really don’t come to watch the coaches, they don’t come watch the administrators. They come to watch the players.

“And in a world where the revenue is ever growing, the student-athletes being able to participate in that ever-growing revenue, who could argue against them? And when is that going to change? When is everybody going to start using their voice to say, hey, this is wrong, this isn’t right?”

Jim Harbaugh: ‘There’s guys out here not even getting paid minimum wage’

Throughout the 2023 season, Harbaugh made his stance on revenue sharing clear. At one point, he went so far as to say he’d take less money if his players got a share. In fact, on Saturday, he offered a similar idea that would see coaches, administrators and others take “5 to 10% less” and put that money in a “pool” for the athletes.

But Harbaugh’s thoughts aren’t just limited to college football. He pointed out some issues in college sports as a whole, particularly with how much money athletes are making. When it comes time to making it happen, he drew comparisons to the Pac-12’s situation earlier this year when 10 teams announced their plans to leave the conference.

The next step, Harbaugh argued, would be giving players a chance to weigh in.

“There’s guys out here not even getting paid minimum wage,” Harbaugh said. “And I’m not talking about just football players. I’m talking about all student-athletes that need to participate. The talent needs to participate in the ever-growing share of the revenue. I’d like to see that change. We’ve seen a whole conference go into a portal. If that those kind of things can happen overnight, things we saw this year, they just happen, then — I don’t know how the sausage gets made completely, but there’s a lot of smart people that do, that know a lot about revenue sharing, know a lot about how those algorithms and economics work.

“And the real issue is there’s no voice for the players. And the organizations, conferences, universities, NCAA, they’re well-represented. They have legal firepower at every angle. And the student-athletes, they don’t have a voice. They’re not represented in any way, and that needs to change, too. But like I said, if stuff can happen this quick, like we’ve seen this year, then I’m hopeful that there’s a wrong that could be righted quickly as well.”

Harbaugh: ‘We’re all robbing the same train here’

TV contracts around college sports are increasing. The Big Ten and SEC are preparing to fully begin their new media rights deals — worth $7 billion over seven years and $3 billion over 10 years, respectively. The NCAA also announced a new media deal with ESPN for conference championships that will pay $115 million per year.

While players can profit off their name, image and likeness now, Jim Harbaugh said they should be able to receive at least a part of the revenue, as well, while those TV numbers keep getting bigger.

“There used to be a saying: Old coaches — my dad’s used it, my brother’s used it — like, hey, we’re all robbing the same train here,” Harbaugh said. “Like coaches, administrators, media, television stations, conferences, NCAA. And the ones that are really robbing the train, the ones that could really get hurt are getting a very small piece. So that needs to change, too. That needs to change.

“And it’s one thing for somebody to say, well, they’re getting NIL. But, heh, the billions that are being generated they’re getting, they’re not getting much of, very small percentage. They’re getting the same amount as I got in the ’80s. You’re getting a scholarship, room, board, books and tuition. So it’s like, come on, man, let’s do the right thing here. And who is that voice? I don’t know that, who is the voice for the student-athletes. But got the organizations that are really fighting for their share and their piece, and it’s time to share.”