Don’t expect Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney to apologize for being a very rich man anytime soon.
The two-time national champion, who is also an outspoken critic of paying players, recently agreed to a $93 million contract extension. He doesn’t sound like he has one second of time for his haters and people upset with the fact he’s paid so much with his views on paying players. (RELATED: Clemson Football
Swinney told ESPN the following in part when discussing his new deal, his first job, and the fact players aren’t paid much money outside of their scholarship:
I got paid $400 a month. I put the work in and grinded. I’m never going to apologize for working to be at the top of my profession. I didn’t get into coaching for that, but that’s how my career has gone. The CEO of Delta makes a lot of money, too, and he has a lot of people that help him be successful. What’s the average income in this country? $45,000? If we really want to professionalize it, let’s pay them $80,000. Let’s pay them $100,000. But they’ve got to pay taxes. They’ve got to pay for college. They’ve got to pay rent. They’ve got to pay their meals. They pay for their tutors. That’s the real world. You can’t have it both ways.
As I’ve said a million times, I’m a huge Dabo Swinney guy. He’s a great football coach and really comes off as a much better man. He’s a straighter shooter and you’re just drawn into trusting whatever he’s saying.
I also love the fact he refuses to back down from his stance on paying players, despite the fact he gets paid a ton. He’s not out here making excuses. He’s just stating facts.
He doesn’t like it, and the fact he made it to the top of the coaching ladder has no impact on his outlook. The man started out by making $400 a month when he was on Alabama’s staff. That’s not even beer money! That’s virtually no money at all and now he’s rich. I wouldn’t apologize either.
I don’t even really agree with him. I have no problem with players getting paid to sign autographs or use their likeness, but I respect the fact Swinney isn’t beating around the bush. Hey, you want to cut players a salary, then let them start paying for everything?
I can promise you their tune would change quickly.
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Whether you hate or love Dabo Swinney, the man is about as honest in his thoughts as they come. At the very least, you should respect the hell out of that.
I also expect the Clemson Tigers to do some big things in 2019. That should only further drive his critics crazy.