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Profting From the Army All American Game

By Mark

Ever wonder how the players are chosen for the US Army All American High School All Star football game? Ever wonder where the money goes from all those ticket sales and the television rights that NBC pays to televise the game? Well, wonder no more, for this morning the Wall Street Journal has answered all your questions.

It turns out that game is the brainchild and money making machine of two former New Jersey politicians, Douglas Berman and Richard McGuinness have parlayed the game into quite a profitable empire, consisting of the game, invitation only summer camps for promising young players from the age of 12 and up, and sponsorship. The US Army, for instance, now pays more than $2 million annually for naming rights and exposure throughout the company's programs. There are at least a dozen other sponsors, including Russell Athletic which pays $500,000 to $600,000 annually.

The two are doing fairly well for themselves I would say - just another pair of guys profiting mightily on the dreams of high schoolers for an athletic scholarship to college. This has become a major industry in this country, with summer camps in almost every sport you can imagine. The fees for these camps are high, Berman and McGuinness charge $500 for a three day camp, and the payoff is far from assured. Many kids attend three or four of these camps a year, starting in middle school. The investment by parents in these camps is enormous and the disparity in opportunity between kids with parents able to afford these camps and those who can't is vast.

I can't fault Berman and McGuinness for seeing an opportunity and capitalizing on it. It's the system that disturbs me, but I'm not sure there is a good solution to the problem. Perhaps the NCAA can work with the National High School Federation to set up some ground rules and restrictions to promote equity, but then again, the NCAA is probably the last organization you would want to get involved in rule making.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).