I believe this bubble will burst in the next 5 to 10 years. The economics of it just can't be sustained. Lots of money coming in but most universities are operating in the red. Only a small percentage of the schools in the Power 5 conferences operate in the black. All other schools want to be like them and are willing to pay huge sums to placate supporters but in reality they will never get there.
I was hopeful when Ed O'Bannon sued the NCAA over wages, etc, that something might change. I'm a Tennessee guy. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone with a Manning jersey on in Knoxville. Dude left in '97ish and the university is still making huge money off of him.
Here are the findings of the 9th Circuit in the O'Bannon suit:
•The NCAA’s regulations are subject to antitrust scrutiny, and rules limiting football and men’s basketball players to receiving tuition, fees, room, board and books violate antitrust laws.
•While antitrust law requires that schools be allowed to provide these athletes with scholarships that cover all of their costs of attending college, including travel and personal incidentals, “it does not require more,” such as what it termed “cash sums untethered to educational expenses.”
So basically its like kissing your sister and the NCAA can continue to operate as usual.
On the coaches pay: a few years ago Tennessee was still paying 5 coaches during each FY that were no longer at the school to the tune of around $15 - $20 million per year total. Crazy, that's congressional math
.