The Weekender: Carr Hands Michigan Another L, the Big 12 Has Money (But Not That Much Money), and What is in Scott Frost's Contract?

By 11W Staff on June 12, 2022 at 2:34 pm
CJ Carr, not a Michigan quarterback
Akash Pamarthy / USA TODAY NETWORK
34 Comments

Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.

Carr Hands Michigan Another L

Five-star quarterback CJ Carr had offers from just about every prominent school in the country (not Ohio State, however), but the funniest offer he got was from the University of Michigan. Funny because the grandson of former Michigan Lloyd Carr spurned the Wolverines and is going to be slinging footballs in South Bend.

“When I knew that I found the right spot for me, I knew I wanted to get that out of the way and commit. Notre Dame is the spot,” said Carr. “I fell in love with the campus the first time I was there. The relationship with coach Rees and coach Freeman has been built since that first first. I took three more and ultimately decided to commit to the Irish.”

Carr went on to say the prerequisite "Michigan's great, but not for me blah blah blah" stuff, but instead of me taking that at face value, here's Lloyd Carr in a Fighting Irish hat:

The Big 12 is Rich! (Not Actually That Rich)

Everything is fine, guys! Nothing to see here. The Big 12 made $426 million last year and they're doing great, thanks for asking. Bob Bowlsby's retiring, they're getting rid of dead weight, the sky's the limit!

Revenue is expected to increase again over the next two years, the final years of the league's media rights deal with ESPN and Fox. That is also a time when the league will add new members BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, likely all next summer,

Wow!

...with powerhouse programs Oklahoma and Texas departing for the Southeastern Conference no later than July 1, 2025 -- and possibly sooner.

Oh.

Also notable: the Big Ten made over $680 million, but that's down from pre-pandemic.

Give Us the Numbers, Lincoln!

For whatever reason the University of Nebraska-Lincoln isn't wild about letting USAToday see Scott Frost's restructured contract, so now there's a lawsuit.

USA Today on Friday filed a public-records lawsuit against the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's director of records for denying a request to provide details about the metrics outlined in Scott Frost's and Fred Hoiberg's restructured contracts.

Journal Star reporters filed a public-records request seeking the same information and also were denied, then appealed to the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.

And I hope the journalists win, because this is petty goofy crap from a public institution that should know better. My salary as a public high school teacher wasn't just public record, it was (and still is) available for anyone to look up on a state-funded website. Growing up, my parents, also public high school teachers, had their salaries published in the Middletown Journal on a yearly basis, along with every other public employee in the city.

Frost can handle people knowing how many millions of dollars he's getting in public funds to be bad at his job. He'll be fine, I promise.

ICYMI

Laurinaitis and Ward Make HOF Ballot

Chris Ward has an outside shot, but James Laurinaitis seems to be a lock sometime soon to head to the College Football Hall of Fame. An absolutely incredible linebacker during his time at Ohio State, it's going to be a fun celebration once he gets in. And should help him get over Notre Dame getting waxed in the season opener.

C.J. Stroud Signs Awesome NIL Car Deal

That G Wagon looks absolutely sick. Cars are cool, and even cooler is that Ohio State's star quarterback gets a chariot befitting a player of his stature. I drive a Honda Civic, which is the kind of car befitting a human of my stature.

Ryan Montgomery Still High On Ohio State

Obviously when you're talking to any recruit, they're going to say nothing but good things about whatever school you ask them about. Still, I get a little giddy anytime a recruit points out that Ohio State is turning into QB U.

34 Comments
View 34 Comments