Jake Butt Scoffs At Scanty Scholarship Money From NCAA
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Jake Butt isn't done calling out the NCAA and its treatment of student-athletes.
This time, the former Michigan tight end is pointing to the lack of sufficient scholarship money he received throughout his time in college.
"When it first hit me was when I was getting 900$ a month and my rent was 700 bucks. I had to call my dad, and thankfully my dad was able to help me out a little bit," Butt told reporters at Michigan's Pro Day. "But there's plenty of people who don't have families who can send them a couple bucks to help cover everything else."
Butt said his dad couldn't believe it when he learned Butt needed more money.
"He said, 'Wait, aren't you on scholarship?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Well how much are you getting?' I said, '900.' He said, 'That's all you're getting?' That's kind of how the conversation went," said Butt.
Because of student-athletes' busy schedules, Butt feels it's unreasonable to think they can drum up extra money on their own.
"We have class, we have workouts. You can't say we can get a job to go pay the extra," he said.
Butt also suggested that some athletes come from such poor backgrounds, they can't afford to keep the money they're given.
"Some people can't call their parents. Some people are sending their money home to their parents. So you take that $900 and now you subtract," Butt said.
Asked if he thinks agents are already paying some amateurs under the table, Butt replied, "There's a chance."
"But I can only speak on what I've felt," he went on, "and what I've felt is, I see my name being used to profit somebody else, and I've got $200 for food, gas, cable, water.
"It used to be, back in the day, they couldn't feed you, either. This is before when you couldn't put cream cheese on a bagel. Remember that? The logical rules that they had."
As recently as 2012, NCAA legislation restricted schools to providing bagels, fruits and nuts to student-athletes, meaning that a complimentary spread - such as cream cheese - was considered a minor violation.
Later in the interview, Butt pondered the idea of an athlete boycott.
"Think about how much money the NCAA would lose if we didn't play," he said. "Or Michigan. Think about it."
However, Butt said the issue of proper compensation wasn't discussed frequently amongst his teammates.
"Maybe a few times, but nothing huge. It's never been something we've talked about or come together on," he said.
Asked what empowered him to step up and speak out against the NCAA, Butt responded, "Somebody has to."
Last December, Butt called out the NCAA for the discrepancy in its treatment of players and coaches.
