Hot Dog Money: Inside the Biggest Scandal in the History of College Sports

Journalist Lawson (War Dogs) examines disgraced financial adviser Marty Blazer’s role in exposing NCAA corruption in this propulsive true crime narrative. Lawson begins the account in 2013, when Blazer was arrested for stealing $2 million from his NFL clients. While Blazer had little defense for that crime, he sought lighter sentencing for it by pointing the FBI and SEC toward a college basketball scandal he was privy to, and occasionally participated in: it was common practice, he claimed, for coaches and sports companies to bribe athletes and their families and steer them toward particular schools or sponsors. Blazer went undercover to prove his allegations, and Lawson corroborates his account by reviewing transcripts, parsing secretly recorded conversations with coaches at Penn State and LSU, and conducting extensive interviews with Blazer himself. The case resulted in the arrests of multiple coaches and Adidas employees; for his own crimes, Blazer got a year’s probation. Lawson carefully balances Blazer’s self-aggrandizement with details of his fraudulent activities, and convincingly argues that the case “held up a mirror to important American institutions... reaping huge profits on the backs of kids playing the sports they love.” This thoroughly reported deep dive impresses. Agent: Robert Guinsler, Sterling Lord Literistic. (June)