Jim Harbaugh may be preparing for the national title game, but that hasn't stopped him from sharing his thoughts on the current state of college football as a whole.
Speaking to reporters Saturday ahead of Monday's College Football Playoff national championship game against Washington, Michigan coach Harbaugh said it was time for his players to participate in a revenue-sharing plan.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reports that Harbaugh, 60, insisted on cutting coaches' and managers' salaries and television contracts by 5% to 10% to make the idea a reality.
“There was a saying a long time ago: In the old passenger cars – my father used them, my brother used them – it was like, 'Hey, we're all robbing the same train here.' Harbaugh said, according to ESPN.. “The coaches, the administrators, the media, the TV stations, the conferences, the NCAA. And the people who are actually robbing trains, the people who could really get hurt, they're getting very small pieces. Therefore, that also needs to change. It needs to change.
“It's another thing for someone to say, well, they're receiving NIL, but they're only receiving a small percentage of the billions of dollars that are being generated. We're getting the same amount of money that we received in the '80s: a stipend, room and board, books and tuition. So we're like, let's do the right thing here.”
Herbaugh Who earns a reported base salary of $7.63 millionsaid in November that it would reduce the amount of the players' contracts if they received compensation.
In his comments Saturday, Harbaugh noted how the entire conference, the Pac-12, effectively entered the transfer portal this year, and that changed the landscape of college football.
This move ironically puts the University of Michigan's CFP opponent in next year's Big Ten.
Harbaugh said he's not a planner, but added that there are people smart enough to make a revenue-sharing situation happen.
“The real problem is that the players don't have a voice,” he said, according to ESPN.
Former Stanford player Sam Schwartzstein claimed in X in 2008Harbaugh, who was the Cardinal's head coach at the time, started the meeting by pleading with the players to form a union, but the former offensive lineman said part of the idea was that the coaches wanted more practice time. he added.
As for Harbaugh's team, the Wolverines are one win away from the national title despite being embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal that resulted in the resignation of staffer Connor Stallions and Harbaugh's three-game suspension. It becomes.
There have been rumors and speculation that the University of Michigan coach could return to the NFL this year, and on Saturday Reported by Diana Russini of The Athletic. Harbaugh said he is the Los Angeles Chargers' “top prospect.”
But Harbaugh said he's not focused on his future.
“I couldn't be happier to be here,” he said Saturday, according to ESPN.
