Currently, many attorneys and legal experts are debating how much Penn State University may be facing in lawsuits.

While they probably won’t begin until after the criminal trial of Jerry Sandusky, who is alleged to have victimized at least 8 different young boys, it nonetheless seems as though they will come.

Legal experts believe that the total may come to $100 million or more when all is said and done.  And, if additional victims come forward, that total could run much higher.

These lawsuits come in the wake of accusations that Jerry Sandusky, involved with university for many years, some of them as the Penn State football team’s defensive coordinator, sexually abused at least 8 victims over a period of 15 years.

In one incident, a temporary janitor caught Sandusky performing oral sex on one of his victims while both were in the showers.  The janitor reported the incident to staff, but no action beyond that is taken.

In a separate incident, graduate assistant Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky having anal sex with another victim.  McQueary later told his father, who advised him to tell Joe Paterno the next morning.

McQueary did report the incident to Paterno, who in turn reported the incident to Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley.  McQueary later had a discussion with Curley, but no action was ever taken.

Despite these incidents of sexual abuse, and the more which are likely to come to light once this case unravels, no one at the university took appropriate action and notified authorities.

And, this mistake will likely end up costing Penn State University $100 million or more.  But, to keep this in perspective, Penn State’s football program is the third most profitable athletic program in all of college sports.  It generates an annual profit of approximately $50.4 million.

Consider that at least 8 victims endured multiple years of sexual abuse.  Consider the maximum financial penalty for Penn State could be somewhere around $150-$200 million.  For Penn State, this is about a 3 or 4-year setback.

While no dollar amount could ever fix the abuse these victims suffered, it seems that in comparison, the financial consequences Penn State will experience pales in comparison to the trauma wrought upon these young boys.