Paying VCU athletes could cost $5 million a year, AD says

Virginia Commonwealth University will consider paying its athletes, a sum that could cost $3 million to $5 million annually, school athletics director Ed McLaughlin said this month.

VCU will not start paying athletes until all questions surrounding name, image and likeness — such as Title IX and an NCAA lawsuit — are answered.

Based on estimations released by the NCAA, McLaughlin guessed VCU might need to spend $3 million to $5 million to be competitive with other men’s basketball teams striving for at-large bids in the NCAA basketball tournament. He called the financial figure “mere speculation.”

Read the full story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.