SCREAMIN' FROM THE CHEAP SEATS. Who am I screamin' at today? Just happens to be my favorite whipping boy the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The NCAA just released the amount of money that was distributed to the 12 teams that made the first 12-team College Football Playoffs. These numbers will probably astound you like it did me so buckle up.

Each of the 12 teams that qualified for the CFP received a base payout of $4 million. The 8 teams that played in the quarterfinals saw another $4 million dollar payday. The 4 squads that made it to the semifinals saw another $6 million windfall. Finally, the two teams that competed in the finals received another $6 million as a reward.

So, let's do the math, shall we? Ohio State and Notre Dame pocketed a cool $20 million for playing in the initial expanded version of the CFP.

Now, if you want to bring up the fact that the dozen schools in the CFP had some unexpected expenses playing anywhere from one to four extra tilts, don't even go down that road and here's why. Each team received an extra $3 million to defray expenses for every game they played. So the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish were rewarded with another $12 million to cover the cost of playing a quartet of contest.

Not a bad payday, right? So why am I screamin'? Here's why.

Guess how much the players made from the revenue generated from the 11 CFP games? Zero and please try and convince me how that is right on any platform.

Now, before you go there that they made money through Name, Image & Likeness payouts let me bring this to your attention. NIL only covers the regular season. Any postseason appearances are extra and, if you look at this from a business standpoint, the NCAA just got what amounts to free overtime from the employees who participated in the games.

The NCAA desperately needs to come up with a formula where the players get a guaranteed percentage piece of the revenue pie from the CFP. The negative public opinion outcry that would be occur when it comes out that the players basically played for free yet generated somewhere just south of $2 billion for the NCAA coffers would be devastating.

The NCAA needs to wake up quickly and get this right. Stop being so greedy and share the wealth or face the consequences that will most definitely come about when these facts and figures come to light.

Book it Dano!