Do you still think $4 million is too much?

[wtbryant]

Honestly, after seeing the interest that Nick Saban has brought to Alabama, I don't see how anybody could say he's being paid too much. I'd be surprised if the atheletic department hasn't already seen enough donations to pay his salary this year. Right now, there are more ticket orders than there are seats. And, I assure you the retailers around here are loving it.

This guys is working as hard as any coach we've had since.....well, since Bear. He's putting together a great staff. He's got us all believing in Bama football again. He will be worth the money. If Bama can be brought back (and we all know she can), Nick Saban is the guy to do it.

Roll Tide Roll!!!!

 

[CrimsonPaul]

He's worth every cent we pay him!:smile:

 

[THE BAMA IRISHMAN]

Honestly, after seeing the interest that Nick Saban has brought to Alabama, I don't see how anybody could say he's being paid too much. I'd be surprised if the atheletic department hasn't already seen enough donations to pay his salary this year. Right now, there are more ticket orders than there are seats. And, I assure you the retailers around here are loving it.

This guys is working as hard as any coach we've had since.....well, since Bear. He's putting together a great staff. He's got us all believing in Bama football again. He will be worth the money. If Bama can be brought back (and we all know she can), Nick Saban is the guy to do it.

Roll Tide Roll!!!!

Donations are up 21 percent since Coach Saban came onboard. Source Crimson and White. Just after his signing several six figure donations were recieved by Dr. Witt. Was this just a coincidence or happy fans. Happy to give as long as we stay happy. Right!

"Once you have a winner, life has a way of making things better." Coach Gene Stallings 1991.

He should know. He created some winners of his own.

4 Million is worth the exposure and the sales created by the Coach Saban's employment. Merchandise sales, Ticket sales, TV deals, and so much more. You say we have had it all along and you are right, but not to the degree its headed now. Check out BAMA Sales, and ticket sales. :BigA:

 

[JPT4Bama]

You get what you pay for.. :BigA: He's worth every penny. :biggrin2:

 

[Tsunami_RTR]

I have heard the Bama Fever outlets cannot keep anything crimson in the stores. I think merchandise alone will pay his salary.

 

[teamplayer]

We as Americans place such emphasis on our entertainment that it is normal for athletes, actors, coaches, and musicians to be grossly overpaid in the grand scheme of things. Our priorities shouldn't be placed on entertainment. However, as long as people continue to plop down hundreds and even thousands of dollars for tickets to shows and games, the amound of money these people make will continue to skyrocket. From the business perspective, the market dictates what they are "worth." From the University of Alabama's perspective, if he produces a winning team, he will more than pay for his contract.

 

[Bodhisattva]

When prices and salaries are set by the market (interaction of supply and demand), the concepts of "overpaid" and "underpaid" don't exist.

 

[NatchezTider]

nope....if he turns this thing around, he ought to get a raise!:BigA:

 

[NYBamaFan]

When prices and salaries are set by the market (interaction of supply and demand), the concepts of "overpaid" and "underpaid" don't exist.

While this may be generally true, one suffering a feeling of desperation might well pay a salary higher than the market has set to lure someone into a position that they might not otherwise take. In this case the market doesn't set the price, as this person's value isn't any more than it was the day before - he is simply higher paid while in the position that he wouldn't have taken.

The "overpaid" soccer player lured to the US (Beckham) is a perfect example. He would not be here if not for the salary offered - much higher (by multiples) than he could possibly have earned had he stayed in Europe. His salary was not set by any market. It was set by a group of men afraid that their investment in MLS might be in jeopardy if they didn't do something desperate to save their franchises.

IMO, Bama paid higher than market value for Saban in order to ensure that he could not possibly receive a better offer at the college level for some time to come. I also believe that they have miscalculated, as they have probably reset the market for superior coaches. In a few years, there will be other coaches making $4M.

Is $4M too much? Only if raising the salary bar doesn't produce what it was intended to produce. We will not know for a few years...

 

[Tigerslayer]

It costs a little more to go first class.......:BigA:

 

[rolltideas]

Never did. Top coaches will be making that kind of money. We were just the first to hit it. The next round of contract extensions for top tier coaches would probably have hit the 4-mill. dollar mark any way. Colleges now have to compete with the NFL for top coaches and that means they will have to try and equal the cash coaches could get at the next level.

 

[rizolltizide]

While this may be generally true, one suffering a feeling of desperation might well pay a salary higher than the market has set to lure someone into a position that they might not otherwise take. In this case the market doesn't set the price, as this person's value isn't any more than it was the day before - he is simply higher paid while in the position that he wouldn't have taken.

The "overpaid" soccer player lured to the US (Beckham) is a perfect example. He would not be here if not for the salary offered - much higher (by multiples) than he could possibly have earned had he stayed in Europe. His salary was not set by any market. It was set by a group of men afraid that their investment in MLS might be in jeopardy if they didn't do something desperate to save their franchises.

IMO, Bama paid higher than market value for Saban in order to ensure that he could not possibly receive a better offer at the college level for some time to come. I also believe that they have miscalculated, as they have probably reset the market for superior coaches. In a few years, there will be other coaches making $4M.

Is $4M too much? Only if raising the salary bar doesn't produce what it was intended to produce. We will not know for a few years...

While I agree with your post, I don't agree with your insinuation of desperation on UA's behalf. I don't believe this was a desperate hire. I do believe, however, that this hire had to be a certain type of individual. I also know there were none of this type of individual in the unemployment line. Knowing what, and better yet, who we wanted, it would have been asinine to try to play the lowball game. In my opinion, a head coaching position at the college level at certain types of programs is just as demanding of the same pay scale that exists at the professional level.

We needed a certain type of individual. We went and got it. Costs be damned.

 

[NYBamaFan]

While I agree with your post, I don't agree with your insinuation of desperation on UA's behalf. I don't believe this was a desperate hire. I do believe, however, that this hire had to be a certain type of individual. I also know there were none of this type of individual in the unemployment line. Knowing what, and better yet, who we wanted, it would have been asinine to tried to play the lowball game. In my opinion, a head coaching position at the college level at certain types of programs is just as demanding of the same pay scale that exists at the professional level.

We needed a certain type of individual. We went and got it. Costs be damned.

Tell me, if we had not landed Saban, is there another candidate that would have met your criteria - that we could have hired? Think it through. It was Saban, or someone with a vastly inferior resume. You might not call it desperation, but it was pretty close...

 

[BamaFan1961]

He has been worth the $4 mil in just the excitement it has brought back to the program. I need to go out now and buy more Bama gear to help take ownership of the program.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Alot of other rival fans say that Bama has put themselves potentially in a financial bind by hiring Saban. However many have no clue on how to determine that. They just look at the $4/year and begin their tirade.

"Return on investment" is something many of them need to educate themselves on. As I've read already many "six figure donations" have come in since he was hired. That is an example of "return on investment." CNS will generate MUCH MUCH more than $4 million dollars per year on top of what Bama would normally generate without him. The amount of money Saban will generate for the University of Alabama will be mind boggling. It appears it is already happening. Now if other colleges can't make that initial "big investment" like Bama did then I'd suggest they do not do it. But just because I can't afford a yacht doesn't mean my neighbor (who can) shouldn't buy one if he wants it.

 

[rizolltizide]

I'm sure there were more out there than just Saban. Probably not many though. And as I said before I doubt many were looking for a new gig. Was Nick really looking? To have gotten anyone with a similiar resume, we would have had to pay similar money. We weren't looking for a vastly inferior resume.

Either way, salaries were headed here anyway. Near term. Stoops is almost there now and Weis is reportedly over that as of a year ago. Why is it a big deal that UA was the supposed first to facilitate it?

 

[NYBamaFan]

I'm sure there were more out there than just Saban. Probably not many though. And as I said before I doubt many were looking for a new gig. Was Nick really looking? To have gotten anyone with a similiar resume, we would have had to pay similar money. We weren't looking for a vastly inferior resume.

Either way, salaries were headed here anyway. Near term. Stoops is almost there now and Weis is reportedly over that as of a year ago. Why is it a big deal that UA was the supposed first to facilitate it?

It isn't for us, because Bama could easily have afforded to pay more - and are prepared to pay more. I wonder how this will impact other schools, though. Where we were beginning to see parity, it will begin to weep away as all of the best coaches are swooped up by the haves, and the rest go to the have nots. This wouldn't bother me at all unless I was a student or alumni of a school like UAB.

As a supporter of capitalism, I don't mind this one bit, but the liberals out there will feel threatened. That is why it is being criticized in the leftist media...

 

[rizolltizide]

It isn't for us, because Bama could easily have afforded to pay more - and are prepared to pay more. I wonder how this will impact other schools, though. Where we were beginning to see parity, it will begin to weep away as all of the best coaches are swooped up by the haves, and the rest go to the have nots. This wouldn't bother me at all unless I was a student or alumni of a school like UAB.

As a supporter of capitalism, I don't mind this one bit, but the liberals out there will feel threatened. That is why it is being criticized in the leftist media...

And you know better than most that sometimes life just isn't fair. I guess I don't really care much about other schools. I certainly don't think they care much about us. In this day of parity you have to have something to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. Coaching is a much bigger piece of that puzzle than ever before.

And I certainly didn't expect you to give a flying one about media criticism.:biggrin2:

 

[THE BAMA IRISHMAN]

It isn't for us, because Bama could easily have afforded to pay more - and are prepared to pay more. I wonder how this will impact other schools, though. Where we were beginning to see parity, it will begin to weep away as all of the best coaches are swooped up by the haves, and the rest go to the have nots. This wouldn't bother me at all unless I was a student or alumni of a school like UAB.

As a supporter of capitalism, I don't mind this one bit, but the liberals out there will feel threatened. That is why it is being criticized in the leftist media...

"There are no Billionaire Liberals. How could there be?" George Carlin :biggrin:

 

[bamasae]

I got on this topic the other day with some of my friends. I had been discussing with an Auburn friend of mine about how at half time of the Bama/LSU game, Saban donated $100,000 to the Alabama scholarship fund. His first comment was "that is a drop in the bucket when you make 4 million a year." And I thought hmmmm, interesting.

So I asked him, is 4 million really that much different than Stoops' 3.45 million? or Weis' 3.35 million? or is that just a drop in the bucket? What was the breaking point since 3.45 million was obviously not it? Would 3.8 have been better? 3.65? 3.525?

Yes, to you and I, $550,000 is a LOT of money, but in the big picture is it really that much? In the grand scheme of things, are we splitting hairs? I mean before Saban got his deal, ESPN and others were reporting crazy things like 5 million a year for 10 years with a 7 million signing bonus and what he got was much less than that in comparison to how much more he makes over Stoops.

Anyone upset over Saban's contract is either ignorant, jealous or bitter...or some combination. Ignorant because they don't look at the big picture and evaluate the true comparitive numbers. Jealous because Bama got a better coach than theirs. Bitter, because they are unhappy with their own life and anyone making a lot of money makes them mad.

I compare this whole money thing to that one person that everyone has in their office. You know, the one that has an insignificant job and is concerned with everyone else’s hours and somehow feels slighted even though those other people have nothing to do with thier job.