Is Johnny Football's Heisman Trophy worth more than $20,000 to Texas A&M athletics?
Not really, says A&M.
A bloomberg.com report suggests the school limits its assessment to $20,000 boosters paid to sit at Manziel's table at a fundraising dinner, plus a piece of $60,000 made from jersey sales royalties.
"People draw the conclusion that we make millions from Johnny winning the Heisman," said Aggies athletic director Eric Hyman. "I'd say we've gotten more financial benefit from joining what's widely perceived as the best football conference in the country and having a winning program."
There is no question that revenue for Southeastern Conference schools is enough to boggle the mind. Last year, the SEC's revenue-sharing plan distributed nearly $300 million to its members. The notion that Manziel's Heisman impact is limited was supported by David Carter of Southern Cal's Sports Business Institute.
"When someone makes the leap that his award has generated millions for the school, the public assumes it must be," Carter said. "When you peel it back and look underneath, you realize most of these revenue streams are fixed."
Defining Manziel's value to the school isn't so easy, however. Not when TAMU is selling the grass he ran on. And certainly not when the Texas A&M Foundation president Ed Davis bestows a certain amount of credit for a $740 million windfall directly to Manziel.
One can only assume Davis has a slightly higher regard for the impact of Manziel's Heisman than 20 grand.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
