06-04-2012, 05:48 AM
Just because his son is on scholarship doesn't mean Combs isn't going to write a $10 million check to the UCLA athletic department.
It seems fairly likely that there's some tacit deal here: give my son a football scholarship, and I'll quietly write you a large check. And even if there's no such deal, think about UCLA's incentives. Rationally it makes sense for the school to wager $200K that Combs will have a good experience at UCLA, and his Dad will one day write a much bigger check.
This is, after all, a 5 foot-9 inch, 170-pound cornerback from the East Coast, who's a two-star recruit according to Rivals. He does have a couple of other decent offers - Illinois and Virginia - but it seems likely to me that their offers reflect the same financial incentives that UCLA's offer does.
This kind of thing happens all the time with walk-ons, at Stanford and elsewhere. Guys routinely make college football rosters because they are the sons and grandsons of very rich people. My guess is that the only thing different here is that Combs is getting a scholarship.
It seems fairly likely that there's some tacit deal here: give my son a football scholarship, and I'll quietly write you a large check. And even if there's no such deal, think about UCLA's incentives. Rationally it makes sense for the school to wager $200K that Combs will have a good experience at UCLA, and his Dad will one day write a much bigger check.
This is, after all, a 5 foot-9 inch, 170-pound cornerback from the East Coast, who's a two-star recruit according to Rivals. He does have a couple of other decent offers - Illinois and Virginia - but it seems likely to me that their offers reflect the same financial incentives that UCLA's offer does.
This kind of thing happens all the time with walk-ons, at Stanford and elsewhere. Guys routinely make college football rosters because they are the sons and grandsons of very rich people. My guess is that the only thing different here is that Combs is getting a scholarship.