Episode Details

Tonight, millions of Americans are expected to tune in to watch one of the biggest sports events of the year, college football’s national championship game. On the field, the game will be determined by the skill of the players and coaches, but behind the scenes, secretive groups of donors are wielding enormous influence over what fans will see.David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The Times, discusses the shadowy industry upending college football, and how it has brought amateur athletics even closer to the world of professional sports.Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: 

• The best teams that money could buy.
• A shift that allows booster groups to employ student athletes has upended the economics of college football and other sports while giving many donors a tax break.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

🌎 THE STORIES THAT MATTER. EVERY SINGLE MORNING.
Join 5M+ daily listeners staying ahead of the headlines. 📈
🎧 DON'T BE THE LAST TO KNOW
Catch today's deep dive: ▶️ LISTEN NOW
Never miss a beat: 🔔 SUBSCRIBE FREE