actual sports analysis: Jim Calhoun and that pesky reporter

What went down: At a post-game press conference, a freelance journalist asked UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun how he felt about being the highest-paid employee of the state of Connecticut. UConn is a public university and Calhoun makes 1.6 million a year, while the state is running a billion dollar deficit. When questioned, Calhoun responded strongly:

"Quite frankly, we bring $12 million into this university. Nothing to do with state funds. We make $12 million dollars a year for this university. Get some facts, and come back and see me. Get some facts, and come back and see me! Don't throw out salaries or other things; get some facts, and come back and see me. We took over $12 million for the University of Connecticut, which is state run. Next question."

Conventional wisdom: Mike & Mike defended Calhoun, and sort of went along with his defense. Saying that yes coaches make a lot of money, but they bring in a lot of money, and that's the way things are. Greenburg also brought up that a winning coach brings in a lot more in Alumni donations, that his job is to win games not turn a profit, and that the money they bring in goes to strengthen UConn as a university, and how do you measure the value of a good public school.

Late breaking facts: As reported on Deadspin, turns out UConn brought in $7,332,214 last year, but had $6,009,728 in expenses, for a net profit $1,324,486, which is less than Calhoun's total salary.

My take: It would seem that because Calhoun tried to justify his salary with the money that the basketball program brings in, that everyone else is content to play the argument out like that. That M&M think because he's netting $10 million for UConn he's right, and then when Deadspin finds out that he's not turning a profit, that Calhoun was wrong.

But I think that Calhoun's salary has nothing to do with how profitable the program is. He's not the CEO of a company and he's not getting bonuses for the company's bottom line. His job is to win games and if anything, he should get bonuses for the team's record--not sure if he actually does or not.

Ultimately, this is my main point: Calhoun gets paid the market value. He's one of the best coaches in history and he commands a large salary. He had to work his way up to this point, getting promoted and so on. If UConn doesn't pay him 1.6, I'm sure some other college would. Whether the program brings in 10 million or 1 dollar isn't relevant to the fact that 1.6 million is his market price.

Say a CTU Agent makes $100,000. Someone asks him if that's a bit high for a federal employee, and he says that we stop terrorists that would cause $10 billion in damage a year. Then we crunch the numbers and look at all their expenses: satellite feeds, magic drive readers that can read chips that no one's ever seen before, opening up new sockets, going on COM...and we find that they actually only net $50,000 in profit. So should that agent take a pay cut?

Of course not, Jack Bauer gets paid because he has specialized skills and you don't have any other choice but to pay him 100 grand!