John U. Bacon on WTKA: Gary Turned Down 300K+ to Come to Michigan
Bacon is on Sam’s show discussing his new book and Gary’s and Daxton Hill’s recruitment’s are the subjects of this segment.
August 16th, 2019 at 11:51 AM ^
Well damn
August 16th, 2019 at 10:55 PM ^
This is a great interview. I’m glad I listened to it. But where is part two?
August 16th, 2019 at 11:53 AM ^
Honestly, I wonder if he regrets it?
August 16th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
Maybe but still picked #12 overall a year early
August 16th, 2019 at 12:21 PM ^
That had more to do with him than it did Michigan. The guy had freak athletic ability and would have gone high no matter where he went.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:57 PM ^
Clemson probably would’ve developed him better. Their DLine has been one of the few that are better than ours pretty consistently. Their scheme would probably utilize his strengths too
August 16th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
"Better Development thru Chemistry"
August 16th, 2019 at 1:04 PM ^
you mean "supps" at the training table, right?
August 16th, 2019 at 1:05 PM ^
you mean "supps" at the training table, right?
August 16th, 2019 at 1:04 PM ^
I know because Michigan sucks at developing d-line talent.
August 16th, 2019 at 3:59 PM ^
Before Gary was drafted, it had been a full year since M had a d-lineman drafted. A FULL YEAR!
August 16th, 2019 at 8:07 PM ^
"Their DLine has been one of the few that are better than ours pretty consistently." This is true.
You can recognize that Michigan has been excellent at D Line development and also that Clemson has probably been even better.
August 17th, 2019 at 1:21 PM ^
That's not exactly what he said. It's a clear sign that your argument is weak when you jump immediately to a straw man argument.
August 16th, 2019 at 10:39 PM ^
The Clemson DL was amazing last year. Without Gary. He might have had a tough fight for playing time.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:46 PM ^
He would have won a national championship and based on recent drafts Clemson does a fine job getting d line players drafted
August 16th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
Cool, welcome to MGOBLOG Rashan!
August 16th, 2019 at 12:47 PM ^
I don't know if you regret that.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:55 PM ^
No, but he might regret some of the a**holes here who made his life harder than it needed to be.
August 16th, 2019 at 2:06 PM ^
Agree. Just look above for the comments that get upvoted for better player development. May be education and moral was more important than a championship or football.
August 16th, 2019 at 6:31 PM ^
Honest question: do you think he really pays or paid any attention to anything we post here?
August 17th, 2019 at 4:28 AM ^
I hope not. It would be horribly embarrassing if players read the vile, insulting bilge posted by some "fans".
August 16th, 2019 at 2:47 PM ^
The amount of Michigan fan self-loathing on this site is pathetic. Rashan Gary is a young man of character who worked extremely hard to become an Academic All-B1G player and ended up drafted 12th overall (1 pick ahead of Christian Wilkins BTW), signed a multi-million dollar contract, started his own sports agency and will be able to provide for his mother for the rest of their lives. Reports out of Packers camp have been that he has played very well so far. Regardless, people here can't seem to do anything but doubt him and speculate about how he made a mistake coming to UM.
Dexter Lawrence, who was the 2nd ranked DT prospect behind Gary when they were coming out of high school, got picked 5 picks after Gary.
August 16th, 2019 at 5:56 PM ^
Well said....I wear my Michigan fandom on my sleeve and root for all athletic teams relentlessly, but when i read the self loathing on here by so called "fans" that bash Michigan I just cant help to wonder what planet are these people on. #goblueforever
August 16th, 2019 at 2:58 PM ^
If Gary hadn't been dealing with nagging injuries, I think he would've been a transcendent player at UM. That has nothing to do with where he chose to go to school.
UM develops D-Line talent about as well as anyone in the country. Gary still went #12 and will get paid like he should.
August 16th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
believe it.
i have a very close friend whose son was a UGA football player when richt was there. says the SEC is d-i-r-t-y beyond belief.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:08 PM ^
'Crootin
August 16th, 2019 at 12:49 PM ^
Others call it employment.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:30 PM ^
One has to wonder where the ethics are for some of these kids/families. Everyone has their reasons, but no one can dispute that this is clearly "against the rules". Maybe I'm too much of a Boy Scout, but it just seems wrong.
Also surprising the IRS isn't getting involved. Individuals bring in in close to half mil a year under the table are seriously skirting tax law.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:33 PM ^
I don't think the families care when many of these players will never see the light of professional play and even the ones who are pegged to go pro can have it taken away on one freak/bad play. Kid putting his body on the line = give me what's owed NOW.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:44 PM ^
There's the rub now, isn't it: what is "owed" to a kid that is still a recruit and hasn't done/proven a thing at your school yet?
Aren't we all about meritocracy now and competing hard for an opportunity (not guarantee) of being successful?
August 16th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
I guess he's "owed" his market value, especially if he is unable to go pro after college. If the school decides he's worth x amount of dollars then that's his market value, under the table or not. These players have all worked hard to be successful up to this point and that determines their market value - as in a meritocracy. One can argue the NCAA rules prevent these athletes from being compensated openly for their value/work at a fair market value and create a black market.
I'm not arguing for or against a particular system, just acknowledging reality.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:59 PM ^
Can you really say it's a market value when it's only bagmen offering them money to commit to schools officially as students? They would need to prove that there are legitimate employers out there that would pay for them with their current skill set (coming out of high school). I'm not sure that really exists without the presence of a real minor professional league in football that takes kids right out of high school (which I think is part if the solution, since just about every other major sport does this).
August 16th, 2019 at 1:44 PM ^
Yes because that is literally what market value means. If someone, multiple someones, are willing to pay another person a certain amount to perform a task, then that is the market value for that person for that task.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:58 PM ^
I don't think this argument makes any sense.
As any economist would tell you, a black market is still a market. If someone is willing to pay you a lot of money, then that is your market value.
August 16th, 2019 at 3:33 PM ^
Exactly this. In fact, if a black market exists, one could argue that the true market value is even MORE than the black market value. That's because the illicit nature of the market means it'll scare several would-be buyers away from making offers, thus driving down the prices. The talent pool for elite NCAA athletes is pretty inelastic, whereas I think the pool of schools/booster networks willing to pay elite players would expand significantly if the payments were brought above-board.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:41 PM ^
Ethics? These are often poor families getting money from rich guys/schools to play football. Yes, it's against the rules but not like robbing a liquor store or selling drugs. There is always a spectrum of "bad" and that spectrum is a little different for different people. I'm sure it's positioned as "I know you could use the help and we have a lot of money and would like to help you if your son comes to play for us. That's how much he means to this program" and although that sounds grimy to some of us, people gots bills, man. And it's not illegal.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:48 PM ^
Ethics don't apply only to the well-off, but again that is all personal choice.
But, this IS illegal since they don't report any of it (or else launder it to hide sources/connections). If they were open about it, it wouldn't be illegal but then the NCAA would get involved.
A lot trouble and deception involved for something that isn't wrong at all.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
It's not necessarily illegal - there is a gift exclusion for every individual of $14,000. Meaning anyone can give anyone else 14k without reporting anything to the IRS. So, in theory, every person (Husband and Wife each get 14k to give to anyone) can give a recruit 28,000 without having to report anything to the IRS or pay tax on it.
If the bagmen are working with enough donors (5 -10 families), then they can easily give a kid 300k without having to report anything.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:11 PM ^
I need to check up on it, but I think the "gift" provision applies to the recipient, not the donor. Otherwise it would be way too easy to money launder (just as one example) since the perpetrators would simply need to divide it up to get each transaction below $14,000.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
When giving a gift the tax is paid by the person giving the gift, not receiving it. They have to file an estate and gift tax return to claim it; the return shows exactly who is getting the gift and how much it is. But no, the recipient does not pay a cent in tax on a gift they receive.
August 16th, 2019 at 3:35 PM ^
So you put that $100 gift to your nephew for his graduation on your taxes? Same thing.
August 16th, 2019 at 4:33 PM ^
I know that is not completely true, since a person must declare and pay taxes on gifts above certain thresholds each year - legally at least. I need to check if that is the cumulative gift total or case by case though.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:07 PM ^
Who knows? Maybe they declare the income. “Consulting services, $300,000.”
August 16th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^
You’d be a fool not to.
signed,
Al Capone
August 16th, 2019 at 1:19 PM ^
Complete hundred percent honesty if I had a son going through the recruiting process right now and there were schools offering me as much as 3 to 500k for my kid to play football there I'd be lying to you if I would tell you I would say no.
August 16th, 2019 at 4:48 PM ^
Might want to talk to your lawyer first to be safe.
August 16th, 2019 at 9:37 PM ^
Nothing illegal, as long as you pay the taxes.
Immoral? That’s another question entirely. Not sure lawyer is where you go for that one either.
August 17th, 2019 at 3:37 AM ^
In my case, if I had a son and schools were offering me $300 - 500K for my kid to play football there, I'd wonder if my wife had been fooling around 18 years prior, because there's no way he got that kind of athletic ability from me.
August 16th, 2019 at 5:08 PM ^
A sort of reverse racism has something to do with that. If the feds go after "a poor, struggling, inner city family who is just trying to pay rent and put food on the table", the negative pushback would be overwhelming. If the recruits were all Harvard-eligible preppies, you might see more involvement. Combine this with the difficulty in investigating and tracking cash payments makes it a losing $$$ effort. Football AND basketball.
The efforts need to focus on the sources of the $$$ (the schools). I was hoping that the FBI investigations last year would open up something big with significant penalties but it looks as if that ain't gonna happen. Were going to have to be content with 2nd-rung talented teams (3 and 4*s) vs the Alabamas, Georgias and Clemsons of the world. #5starsstillgotoKansasforayear