The Price - by Armen Keteyian & John Talty (Hardcover)

About the Book

We are living in the Wild West of college sports. Name, Image and Likeness endorsements, the transfer portal, collectives, conference realignment, the powerful influence of media companies have all rendered the notion of amateur athletics a quaint relic of the past, replaced by a Brave New World where money and self-interest rule.

Book Synopsis

"An explosive tell-all book."--Sports Illustrated

"This is a must-read masterpiece."--Paul Finebaum, ESPN college football analyst and New York Times bestselling author

Two of the nation's most respected sports journalists team up for a vital, hard-hitting investigation into the tumultuous state of big-time college football.

We are living in the Wild West of college sports. Name, Image and Likeness endorsements, the transfer portal, collectives, conference realignment, and the powerful influence of media companies have all rendered the notion of amateur athletics a quaint relic of the past, replaced by a Brave New World where money, self-interest, and a powerless NCAA rule.

The Price is a sweeping, in-depth work of investigative sports journalism that looks at an inflection point in big-time college football. Six time New York Times bestselling author Armen Keteyian and award-winning national college football reporter John Talty conducted more than two hundred wide-ranging interviews with head coaches, athletic directors, conference commissioners, administrators, politicians, power brokers, agents and media executives from one corner of the sport to the other. They reveal never-before-reported details on major players such as Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh, Kirby Smart, Jimbo Fisher, and Lane Kiffin. Keteyian and Talty's reporting also lays bare the machinations that destroyed the historic conference that was the Pac-12, purely in the name of greed.

As the sport's premier coaches race for the exits, Keteyian and Talty reveal deep, dark truths about a beloved game under siege--and the financial, physical, emotional and psychological toll taken on everyone whose dreams and fortunes often depend on the final score on a Saturday afternoon.

The Price goes behind the headlines to uncover the real cost of the game today:

• NIL and the Transfer Portal: Uncover how Name, Image, and Likeness deals and the chaotic transfer portal have created a Wild West where money and self-interest rule, leaving the NCAA powerless.
• Coaching Turmoil: Get never-before-reported details from over 200 interviews with giants like Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh as they grapple with a game that's spinning out of control.
• Conference Realignment Chaos: Discover the inside story of the greed and backroom deals that led to the shocking destruction of the historic Pac-12 conference.
• The Future of College Football: Explore the deep, dark truths of a beloved American sport under siege and what the enormous financial and psychological toll means for its future.

Review Quotes

"An explosive tell-all book." - Sports Illustrated

"This is a must-read masterpiece. At college football's most critical moment, John Talty and Armen Keteyian have delivered a blockbuster--the definitive, spellbinding, never-before-told story of the sport's wildest period." - Paul Finebaum, ESPN college football analyst and New York Times bestselling author of My Conference Can Beat Your Conference: Why the SEC Still Rules College Football

"No one has chronicled the increasingly bizarre world of college football with greater depth, breadth, and clarity than Armen Keteyian has. Here Keteyian and John Talty bring perspective to our current hypercharged era, with its unprecedented money, exposure, and pressure, while managing to personalize the price paid by those who still care about the sport's soul. The chapters on the Michigan-Harbaugh saga alone justify the purchase of this great book. I wish I'd written it." - John U. Bacon, New York Times bestselling author of Overtime: Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines at the Crossroads of College Football

"A great read full of incredible stories." - Marc Daniels, co-host "The Beat of Sports Show," WYGM-AM, Orlando, FL

"A tremendous book. A must read for college football fans." - Matt Josephs, Host, "The Matt Josephs Show," WXGI-AM, Richmond, VA

"Outstanding. Excellent overview of the current state of college football & how we got here, but also some wild stories & anecdotes fans of any team will enjoy." - Creg Stephenson, AL.com sports writer

"A fantastic read." - Glenn Clark, Host, "Glenn Clark Radio" podcast, Baltimore, MD

"Insightful and powerful." - Ron Barr, Host, Sports Byline USA

"An explosive behind-the-scenes look at the chaotic state of big-time college football." - David Lamb, Anchor, CBS42, Birmingham, AL

"If you really want to know what's going on in college football in the NIL era you MUST read The Price . . . . Gives you the inside scoop on everything and brilliantly told." - Seth Davis, New York Times bestselling author and college basketball reporter for CCBS Sports

"Just finished The Price, which has a ton of revealing and interesting details about modern college football and the state of college athletics as a whole. For DMV readers specifically, there's a ton about UMD football's quest to float and then swim." - Jesse Dougherty, college sports writer for the Washington Post

"Beyond fascinating. As in every page and chapter is incredible." - Tom Crean, former Indiana basketball coach and current ESPN analyst