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Hello and welcome to the Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson. Today is Sunday, October 20th,

2024.

As college football continues to explode in popularity and revenue, the salaries of

top coaches are skyrocketing into eight figures. Earlier this year, Georgia Coach Kirby Smart signed a new 10-year contract

that will pay him $13 million per year through 2033.

This makes him the highest paid collegiate coach in the nation.

And to put that in perspective, Coach Smart is making more than the CEO of Delta Airlines

and ranks 15th among CEO pay in the state of Georgia.

But is the expense justified? Critics argue that these

hefty paychecks can overshadow the educational mission of universities

strain financial resources and create significant disparities within the academic community.

There's also growing debate about what these salaries should look like in an era

where student athletes are beginning to receive forms of compensation.

USA Today Sports has been examining these huge are beginning to receive forms of compensation.

USA Today Sports has been examining these huge salaries in a special series

and here to delve into the financial and ethical implications of high paid coaches

is USA Today's sports reporter Tom Shad.

Tom I thank you for sitting down with me today.

Yeah, no, appreciate you having me.

So Tom, let's just start with some perspective for anyone coming into this

...