A pair of Seattle Seahawks defensemen took some time out during a recent Super Bowl media session to tear into the NCAA, collegiate athletics' governing body.

According to ESPN, cornerback Richard Sherman, who graduated with honors from Stanford, called the NCAA "one of the biggest scams in America." Defensive end Michael Bennett said the plight of student-athletes is often misunderstood or completely dismissed by outsiders looking in.

"These kids put so much on the line. They [the NCAA] say, 'We give you a free degree.' That's like me owning a restaurant and saying, 'I'll give you a free burger.' It makes me so mad and irate. Universities need to do more for the student-[athletes], Sherman told reporters. "I don't think college athletes are given enough time to take advantage of the free education they're given.

"It's frustrating because a lot of people get upset with student-athletes and say you're not focused on school and not taking advantage of the opportunity you're given."

While Stanford is one of the academically prestigious universities in the U.S., the Cardinal is a highly competitive D1 football team in the Pac-12. Sherman argued that his coach at Stanford, Jim Harbaugh, "would attest we were still there to play football."

Harbaugh left Stanford to coach the San Francisco 49ers for a few years, but went back to the college game for a lucrative contract at Michigan.

"Of course, [Michigan] can afford to pay Jim Harbaugh $48 million because they don't have to pay any of the athletes,'' Bennett told reporters. "If Nick Saban doesn't have those five-star recruits, can he still be who he is at Alabama?

"I think the NCAA should come up with a plan for college athletes to receive some of the money they bring into the schools. My school, Texas A&M, I think makes $50 million just on jersey sales. So I would say pay $60,000 [to student-athletes] for every year you stay in college. Keep that in a 401(k). After you graduate, hold that money until you are a certain age and then you get the money."

Bennett also said he was on the receiving end of animosity from classmates frustrated that he was going to school for free to play football. Student-athletes have to maintain a certain GPA to keep their scholarship and play on Saturdays while also attending rigorous football practices almost every day.

"They don't understand," he said. "When I was in college, I was going to class and some student came up to me and said, 'I'm paying your tuition.' I said, 'You don't pay my damn tuition. My mom paid that when she worked two jobs and I woke up every morning at 6 a.m. and worked hard.' Student athletes don't get enough credit.''