Chris Simms Says He Was Paid by Boosters While at Texas

Simms said he'd get $100 handshakes from boosters "all the time."

Former Texas quarterback Chris Simms said he was given $100 handshakes by boosters "all the time" while in college and said that it's stupid to think that doesn't happen everywhere in collegiate athletics. 

Simms, who played for Texas from 1999-2002 and started for two seasons before a nine-year career as an NFL backup, was asked by Dan Patrick if he was paid by boosters.

Former @TexasFootball QB @CSimmsQB says he received "$100 handshakes" from athletic department boosters while playing at Texas. Surprised? pic.twitter.com/fO5ZLDjwsE

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) August 17, 2017

"Not the boosters that you would see around on a normal basis," said Simms, who now works as a college football analyst for NBC and an NFL analyst for Bleacher Report. "They weren't going to do things like that, they were too a part of the program.

"It would be the random booster that you might see only one time. He would find you that one time and he might have ten football jerseys for you to sign real quick, and then you'd sign it and then he'd give you a 'hey, thanks for this. I appreciate that.' And he'd give you a $100 handshake. That's what I'd call it. 

For people to think that doesn't happen, that's just stupid. Get over it, it's not a big deal. It's happening everywhere. It's happening at Harvard, it's happening at Division II schools. It's going on everywhere."

Simms advocated for college athletes to be paid legally later in the interview.