FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced Tuesday he would be stepping down in the wake of a major corruption scandal that has resulted in multiple high-profile arrests.
The NCAA would be a perfect retirement plan for Sepp Blatter
No need to step outside of your comfort zone, Sepp.
With Blatter now looking for employment, why not turn to another major sports organization under intense public scrutiny? The NCAA may be a step WAY DOWN the crookedness ladder, but Ol’ Sepp would find many aspects of working in college sports quite familiar.
TV MONEY (and illicit money -- shhhh!)
FIFA sold World Cup broadcasting rights for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments for $1.85 billion. CBS is paying the NCAA $10.8 billion for a 14-year March Madness deal.
On the less-legal side of things, FIFA has bribes in $10,000 stacks. College football has bag men.
Way-hyped exhibitions that don’t mean anything
The FA in England gets it out of the way early with the “Community Shield,” a season-opening game between the Premier League champion and the FA Cup champion that just about nobody cares about. Here’s Arsenal player Joel Campbell, absolutely thrilled with his team’s victory last year.
Ross Kinnaird, Getty Images
College football has those at the end of the year:
Brian Blanco, Getty Images
Expensive facilities
Here’s the $550 million Mane Garrincha stadium in Brasilia, the most expensive stadium built for the most recent World Cup. It’s now being used largely as a parking lot.
Shaun Botterill, Getty Images
The University of Maryland, just three years removed from budget issues that caused the closure of seven sports programs, announced a new $155 million football facility in November, in part because of some serious new conference coin.
View from the outdoor turf field on the west side of the facility. #ColeFieldHouse pic.twitter.com/aNvETc8HEw
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) November 21, 2014 Legal officials are not pleased
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch called FIFA’s corruption “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States.”
A real-life judge accused the NCAA of operating as a cartel, and the organization has been facing court battles on multiple fronts.
Google is skeptical, too
Lavish flaunting of money by officials
Former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer kept a $6,000-per month apartment in Trump Tower for his cats and allegedly did not pay taxes for over a decade.
Former Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker reportedly spent $4 million of the non-profit's money on extravagant parties and gifts, including a $33,000 birthday party for himself and a $1,200 trip to a strip club with the game's security consultant. The NCAA does not run the bowls, but it's the same universe.
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