Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes brings sign to College GameDay, calls to pay athletes
Wisconsin basketball star Nigel Hayes used Saturday’s College GameDay in Madison as a platform to call for the NCAA to play college athletes, holding up a sign to express his stance.
“Broke College Athlete,” the sign read, “Anything Helps.” The sign also included a handle on the popular money-transaction app Venmo where people could in theory send him money.
The handle listed does not display his name on the app, but began receiving payments on Saturday morning.
Wisconsin basketball player @NIGEL_HAYES making big statement at College Gameday today with sign (H/T @BadgerBeat) pic.twitter.com/esPl6HQNTi
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 15, 2016
Hayes, a senior, is one of college basketball’s better-known players after Wisconsin’s consecutive Final Four trips in 2014 and 2015. He’s known for his personality and often humorous displays at press conferences. But he also began taking a stance on Twitter on Friday night regarding the NCAA and college athletes.
You make a company millions. They "pay" you with only a college education (estimated UW $160,000).
— Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) October 14, 2016
Fair, right? https://t.co/Hy3yKP42hH
.@CollegeGameDay I'll be there for Game Day and I'll have a great sign! Thanks for the passes (hopefully), see you there!#WisconsinGameDay pic.twitter.com/IOmBr6LMdO
— Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) October 12, 2016
The @bigten made nearly $450 million.
— Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) October 14, 2016
My scholarship is about $160,00.
If only there was enough money to pay us.. pic.twitter.com/EPV1d0I16X
Hayes drew a line between revenue in major college sports and conferences, and the approximate worth of his scholarship at Wisconsin.
Hayes was named the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, averaging 15.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a junior.
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