Tennessee planning interesting move to help pay its football players

Nov 11, 2017; Columbia, MO, USA; A general view of the Tennessee Volunteers helmet during the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers have an interesting plan in mind for how they will pay their players.

The introduction of name, image and licensing deals into college sports has changed the game. The result is that college teams are effectively paying for players. Until legislation is passed providing guidelines for revenue sharing between schools and players, the Vols have a plan.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White told On3’s Andy Staples on Tuesday that they will begin adding a 10 percent surcharge called a “talent fee” for football tickets in 2025. The money generated by that surcharge will go toward paying the school’s football players.

White estimates that the revenue from this surcharge will amount to around $10 million.

“I look at it as an investment into our student-athletes,” White said.

The Vols have turned things around in recent years after experiencing problems in the time after Phillip Fulmer was pushed out. Tennessee went 11-2 in 2022, which was Josh Heupel’s second year as the program’s head coach. They went 9-4 last year and have begun this season 3-0.

The sentiment among Vols fans seems to be that as long as the team keeps winning, the fans will be fine with covering the costs of having an elite program.

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