It’s been one year since fraudulent high school Bishop Sycamore took on high school football powerhouse IMG Academy in front of a national audience on ESPN, leading to one of the most viral sports stories of the year.
While there’s plenty to digest from the story – how Bishop Sycamore got scheduled to play IMG, how the scandal affected their opponents, its educational status (or lackthereof), and the bad checks – one interesting story seems to have slipped through the cracks.
In April of 2021, Bishop Sycamore offered former Ohio State star quarterback Cardale Jones $85,000 to be the team’s offensive coordinator. The 2014 national champion revealed the news on a podcast with Lettermen Row last September and confirmed it in a phone interview with Awful Announcing owner and editor Ben Koo.
“Let me tell y’all something right now. I kid y’all not, I’ll show y’all the text messages. Bishop Sycamore, (former head coach) Roy Johnson offered me $85,000 in April to be the offensive coordinator,” Jones told Lettermen Row last September. “He already told me he locked down a big-time game versus IMG on ESPN here in Columbus.”
Jones ultimately did not accept the offer because the former Ohio State quarterback was still trying to create an NFL or professional football career and he did not yet know if he would be available to coach in any capacity in the fall. But Jones reiterated the offer was very real.
“$85,000,” Jones said. “I kid you not.”
Even had Jones accepted the offer to become the team’s offensive coordinator, it’s unlikely he would have been paid as Bishop Sycamore faced extensive and compounding financial issues. However, that only makes the offer even wilder.
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