Seth Davis article profiling John Higgins
 

I'll preface this by saying I really like John Higgins. I think he does a great job, and there's good reason for him getting so many high profile games. I chatted with him a few times in college when he was working our games and he is a very approachable and knowledgeable guy. There are some great quotes in here.

NCAA basketball's most recognized referee is well-traveled John Higgins

Were you playing when he tossed the Iowa coach vs. UNI?

Davis did a nice job on that article. Great portrayal of the life of a top college official without a lot of bias, opinion or fluff.

No, but without revealing too much about myself, let's just say I had a front row seat to that.

Fran is a hot head. As much as I love my Hawkeyes, and I'm glad they're doing well (last night notwithstanding), I'm not a big fan of his.

He has them rolling, but yes, he's a hot head. My buddy used to cover them for the NBC affiliate in Des Moines before he moved up in the business and interviewed Fran a number of times. Fran's demeanor off the court is just as abrasive as on the court.

Wow!! 90 games ( not including postseason) at $3000 each is a LOT of scratch. I'm sure there are expenses with these fees but man. I could t be away from lil ones that much though. Makes one have a lot of respect for guys like Higgins

Certainly not a bad gig if you can get it but he's not getting $3,000 for each of those games.

The non BCS conferences pay considerably less.

The Missouri Valley is probably the "smallest" conference he works and last I saw a few years ago their top-tier guys (Like Higgins) were getting around $2K/game.

I could be wrong but I think most D1 fees now are flat fees that include money for travel/hotels/per diem/etc., so expenses are coming out of that $3K most of the time. By the time you take expenses out and self-employment taxes, he isn't clearing $3K a night. Still a profitable endeavor though.

Yeah, he's still making a nice chunk. I am just working on my taxes now and I brought in well over 10K, but that was nearly cut in half by allowable deductions. If the NCAA guys are getting paid an average of 2500 per night, but that includes their travel, lodging, food, ect, then they are losing the ability to deduct those items from their income, thus they are paying SE tax on the vast majority of what they are making. At $2500 per game, the government is getting over $350 per game in SE tax. Add in the income tax the government also charges and that $2500 is much closer to $1500 per game. They lose a lot of money to taxes, but still are making a TON of money for those seasons they work.

Sometimes I wonder if the per diem the officials get is really worth it, or if they would be better off getting paid more and covering your own expenses.

I believe most get a flat fee. The officials pay their own travel and expenses out of that flat fee.

I think your understanding of how the tax forms work is incorrect.

If you get paid (say) $1,500 plus *actual* expenses of $1,000, then all the taxes are just on the $1,500 and there's no entry for the expenses.

If you get paid $1,500 plus a per diem of $1,000, then you deduct your actual expenses (might be $800; $1,000; $1,200) from the $2,500 and pay taxes on the balance. Assuming the actual expenses were the same $1,000, then either way gives the same results.