Honest question (and I'm not being argumentative), but why don't you believe the numbers? I've heard a number of people say this and I just don't know why the numbers wouldn't be true.
Winning at football is clearly lucrative for schools, you'd think teams would pay to win more football games. We see how much football coaches are making. I guess I just don't understand why people are skeptical that this sport would be the only one that teams wouldn't pay for better players while also paying coaches massive salaries.
All of this said, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some showmanship like you see with NFL contracts. NFL contracts are really worth the guarantees and the fully voidable final years of a contract are more or less for show. I can definitely see some of that going on.
The amount of money that guys like Mendoza, Bain, the entire TTU team, Smith, Hemby, Caleb Downs, etc. have brought into their respective universities would absolutely pay for what these guys are allegedly getting paid.
Honestly, it's an honest question, what makes you or anyone else who doesn't buy the figures skeptical?