have too much skin in the game

[Unregistered]

(Mr Golden shows that elite universities do everything in their power to admit the children of privilege.
...
You might imagine that academics would be up in arms about this. Alas, they have too much skin in the game. Academics not only escape tuition fees if they can get their children into the universities where they teach. They get huge preferences as well. )

What is "have much skin in the game" mean? According to the context, I think it means" university teachers have benefited much from the admission procedure, so they won't object this kind of admission practice. But
there must be some reason to connect "have much skin in the game" with this meaning. What is the reason?

[Tdol]

If you have skin in the game, you invest in a company you are running, so you are right.

[joyapple]

Is "have too much skin in the game" an idiom? I can't infer the meaning which I have guessed from the phrase itself. I'd like to know the conceptural meaning of this phrase.

[MikeNewYork]

Is "have too much skin in the game" an idiom? I can't infer the meaning which I have guessed from the phrase itself. I'd like to know the conceptural meaning of this phrase.

There is one meaning of "skin" as "one's life or welfare".

He tried to save his skin.

The use in the phrase is likely related to that.

[Tdol]

Warren Buffett, the American investor, is credited with coing the phrase. I think Mike's explanation makes sense.