Georgia running back Todd Gurley is under investigation for reportedly profiting $400 for autographing memorabilia. But according to former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia, Gurley got ripped off based on market standards.
Garcia told The Mac Attack radio show that he was aware of players being paid for autographs "all day, every day," during his own playing days, and that the most money he ever heard of a player receiving "for the season for autographs and stuff," was $160,000. Of course, Garcia didn't attach a name or any verifiable detail to the $160,000 figure.
South Carolina compliance officials are now in scurry mode to look into Garcia's claim, according to gogamecocks.com. And like a lot of rumors and ghosts that school compliance officials have no choice but to pursue, this one is bound to hit a dead end, too. The notion that the biggest stars in the SEC during Garcia's playing days (2007-2010) commanded six-figure sums for autographs, yet a few years later, the market has dried such that a star on the level of Gurley could only command a few hundred bucks, is utterly absurd.
It's not insignificant Garcia said he "heard" of the $160,000 figure rather than claiming personal knowledge of a transaction. He did, however, claim first-hand knowledge of players receiving more than what Gurley is alleged to have received, but was not specific about how much money he saw they'd made himself, or whether those players were teammates or from another school.
"I wish it would have came to me, but they thought of me as some rich white kid, so I didn't really get a whole lot of benefits from that," Garcia said. "I mean, I'm just being honest with you, and that's what it is. I saw it firsthand with a lot of players. ... I am friends with a lot of players around the SEC and some of the stories they tell me, it makes the Todd Gurley thing seem insignificant by a long shot."
Don't tell Georgia coach Mark Richt it's insignificant. He'll play against Arkansas on Saturday with the suspended Gurley sitting at home in Athens, Ga.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.