I'm a massive BYU fan. I spent well over $4000 this year to follow the team in every home game and away games in the Rose Bowl and Arrowhead. I love BYU. I also believe that BYU football is one of the greatest tools the Church has to promote and promulgate the mission of the Church, the values of the Church, and just general awareness of the Church to the nation. I served my mission in the U.S., and the number one thing people recognized about the Church was BYU football.

In short: the amount of money it would take to advertise to the combined audience of this year's football games alone would be in the billions.

The Church spent $1.5B to $2B on the City Creek mall. They spend $20M to $45M per temple. I know for a fact that the U.S. digital marketing budget for the Church (again, just online) is over $20M per quarter. The list goes on.

I'm NOT arguing that those things are not good/worthwhile. But I am wondering what the Church's position is on BYU football. If it is what the Church has, in the past, said it is, why can't the Church pony up $4M per year for a coach? What's the reason? Or, have I just fundamentally misunderstood the position of the Church and the importance of BYU football?

The Church pays market value for other professionals. They compensate well. Why can't they pay the CEO of the single most visible arm of the Church market value? I'm not trying to be critical, but the fact that service academies are paying more than us is ridiculous.