William Watson: Do you still dislike inequality even when it’s earned?

A new U.S. study shows that big differences in how much people work lead to big differences in their lifetime earnings. Is that a problem?

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According to the New York Times, which for once is probably being conservative, the going rate for a good U.S. college quarterback is US$820,000. That’s in the “Power Four” conferences: the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Atlantic Coast Conference (which, bizarrely, now includes Pacific coast schools California and Stanford) and the all-powerful Southeastern Conference.

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Some reports say the quarterback for Texas earns US$2 million, while his backup, freshman Arch Manning, grandson of Archie Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, makes US$3 million. The University of Georgia’s quarterback bought himself a Lamborghini over the offseason. “I’ve always been a car guy,” he explained.

Most of the money is royalties for “NIL” — “name, image and likeness.” College football is immensely popular in the U.S. and generates billions of dollars in revenue from TV contracts and ticket and merchandise sales. Its stars become famous. Use of their names, images and likenesses becomes commercially valuable. (Something about Lamborghinis: two star........

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