The 4 Biggest College Basketball Schools Could Pay Players $500,000 And Still Be More Profitable Than The Average NBA Team

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Mark Coomes of Insider Louisville wrote an interesting article last week about the vast disparity between fair market value for college athletes and the value of a scholarship.

The main point: Even if all 13 players on the top basketball teams were paid above market value ($500,000 per year), the programs would still be wildly profitable.

Let's take that a step further.

According to Forbes, seven schools made more than $12.4 million in profit off their basketball teams last year. Of those seven, four (Louisville, Kentucky, UNC, and Kansas) made $19.9 million or more in profit.

The average NBA team made $11.89 million in profit last year, according to the annual Forbes list of team valuations.

This really isn't a fair comparison. NBA teams have to give 50% of total revenue to players. Kobe Bryant alone makes more money in salary (~$30 million) than the most lucrative basketball team made in profit (~$24.6 million).

But as a thought exercise, let's say the country's biggest, most profitable college hoops teams started paying players $500,000 per year (way more than anyone is talking about right now, mind you).

Here's what the four top schools would make:

1. Louisville, $18.1 million
2. Kansas, $13.4 million
3. UNC, $13.4 million
4. Kentucky, $13.4 million

They'd all still be making more profit than the Clippers and Mavericks, and Louisville would be making more than the Heat.

This is a pretty elementary analysis. But the point is that these schools are making tons of money because of free labor.