Maybe this will shock some people -- though I can only assume that those folks never spent any significant time in or around a Power Five football program while in college -- but the most important players on the most important teams are often getting a little more than just a scholarship.

While appearing as a guest on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, former Texas quarterback Chris Simms confirmed as much -- and did so without mincing words.



"Boosters that you would see around on a normal basis, they weren't going to do things like that. They were too a part of the program," he explained. "It would be the random booster that you might see only one time, right? But he would find you that one time and… he'd give you $100 handshake."

This "$100 handshake" is not a new revelation, and boosters paying players is not an act exclusive to the '80s-era SMU football program.

"For people out there to think that doesn't happen, that's just stupid," Simms said. "Get over it. It's not a big deal. It's happening everywhere. It's happening at Harvard. It's happening at Division II schools. It's going on everywhere."

Division II schools might be a stretch, but to assume that it's happening throughout the FBS is not. Simms keeps it real throughout this discussion -- and, for that, it's only right that we pay tribute to the former Texas quarterback with the most famous play of his career.



Sorry, Chris.