“. . . Jim’s very well-compensated, yes, but he’s worth every penny.”

In my next life, if I can’t come back as an athletic director at a P5 program, I think I can settle for being the guy who runs “… a second-tier college football postseason game featuring third-place teams”.

The hefty paychecks enjoyed by bowl bosses long have been viewed by economists as a sign of exploitation in a sport played by amateurs. But even among this coterie of well-paid executives, McVay’s compensation — $1,045,000 in 2017, according to the bowl’s most recent tax filing — ranks as extreme, according to a review of bowl financial records and interviews with industry experts.

McVay, a former Buccaneers marketing executive and uncle to Los Angeles Rams Coach Sean McVay, was the highest-paid bowl executive in the country in 2017, the most recent year financial records are available, even though his organization’s revenue that year — $11.9 million — ranked 10th among bowl organizations. While several bowl bosses manage other games or major events, McVay’s core duties remain as focused as they were when he took the job in 1988: negotiate contracts and sell sponsorships and tickets for one football game each year.

Not bad work if you can get it.