Stephen Garcia had his share of problems during his stay at South Carolina, getting himself suspended five separate times and eventually getting himself dismissed from the team altogether during his senior year. However, he chose to speak to the immorality of the NCAA and their hunting of players who seek to profit from their on-field success.
Earlier today in an interview with CBS Sports, Garcia, who is now a media member; shared his opinion that it’s “absolutely ridiculous” that NCAA players were unable to profit from their likeness. He also went on to describe how some players were paid quite handsomely for their time & autographs, outlining how one anonymous player allegedly made $160,000:
“I saw it all day, every day to be honest with you. I wish they came to me, but they thought of me as some rich white kid so I didn’t really get benefits from that. I’m just being honest with you. I saw it firsthand with a lot of players and talking with other guys. You know I’m friends with a lot of players from around the SEC, and talking with them, it makes the Todd Gurley thing seem insignificant by a long shot.”
What Garcia is saying shouldn’t shock anyone. Many NCAA players will choose to roll the dice and accept (sometimes meager) benefits, knowing the large majority will play their entire college careers without even so much of a hint of trouble. As the NCAA faces increasing pressure to fix it’s policies, be expecting even more ex-players to tell their tales of how they went around the rules of college football’s benefit system.
[h/t CBS]