Signing Day worth $3.3 million to local athletes

There is a sports story on the front page of the Tallahassee Democrat this morning. Let the hate mail begin.
Why is all the “important” news of the day buried inside while you publish “trivial” stories such as this one about the NCAA football national signing day on the front page?
Well, let me start with a few numbers:
49: How many student-athletes from the Big Bend region who signed letters of commitment to play football in college.
19: Student-athletes from here who signed with schools in Bowl Championship Series conferences.
$3,379,775: Estimated value of scholarships those 49 students would earn over five years, assuming a red-shirt year and in-state tuition costs.
$2,703,820: Value of those scholarships over four years, still assuming in-state tuition costs.
Not included: books and other expenses, just tuition, room and board. I made my estimates using a variety of sources including College Board and U.S. Department of Education, based on national averages.
Where does that money come from? Boosters at big-time programs such as Florida State carry most of the load. At other schools, taxpayers and the programs themselves fund scholarships for athletes. If you care about sports, thank a Booster.

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