Almost exactly seven years ago to the day, I posted on the Posse my opposition to paying college athletes. That commentary dealt with this issue on a more limited scope -- athletes from private universities were ruled eligible to form labor unions by the National Labor Relations Board.
Much has changed since then. The courts have ruled that universities -- public and private -- prohibiting their athletes from earning money for selling their personal brand or likeness is a violation of antitrust laws.
The U.S. Supreme Court this week will begin hearing appeals, with the NCAA, Big Ten Conference and U.S. Department of Justice all involved. If SCOTUS leaves the lower courts' rulings in place, college athletes will be able to make money by engaging in activities like appearing at an auto dealership grand opening to sign autographs, or selling autographed photographs of themselves.
I love college sports -- particularly football and basketball, but also other sports including hockey, baseball, and volleyball. I do not want college sports to get bogged down in the swamp that sullies professional sports: obscenely large contracts, holdouts, walkouts, strikes, arbitration, agents, attorneys, salary caps, free agency, contracts, never-ending litigation, and complacent, arrogant athletes who love the big bucks but choose to coast rather than work hard.
In recent years, with the so-called "transfer portal" that enables players to transfer out of one university and start playing for another university without sitting out one season, we've been moving in that direction. And if players are allowed to cash in on their fame, this opens the door to a lopsided competition for talent. Large universities with plenty of wealthy alumni will be able to effectively pick the talent pool clean with their offers of huge money for modest activities. Some smaller schools may elect to just shut down their football programs rather than shell out the big money only to get repeatedly trounced and see revenues crater.
What if, for instance, a billionaire alum and booster was willing to pay an athlete $1 million each time that athlete showed up at the oligarch's Christmas party, children's birthday parties, and the like? What if that same booster made it "understood" that if five-star prospect Joe Blow signs on the dotted line with a certain university, his autographed selfies and pictures taken with the booster's family members will go for, oh, let's say $200,000 apiece.
We may be so far down that road that it's too late to turn back. But let's remember, the vast majority of college athletes do not become pro athletes. Many of them end up using their degrees to work as white collar professionals; some end up coaching or getting into sports management, others become announcers or commentators for one of the myriad sports networks.
Although athletes don't cash in on their likeness (yet), and universities make multi-millions off of TV contracts, ticket/concession sales and apparel bearing the names of star athletes, the athletes do receive scholarships often worth $50,000 to $100,000 or more.
And no one is forcing them to play for the universities. Athletes who think they're good enough can go try out for an NBA or NFL team, or any other pro sports team. Not many are good enough to do what LaBron James did in 2003 or Al Kaline in 1957 -- go straight from high school to the pros (the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Tigers, respectively). But there are minor leagues, developmental leagues, and European basketball. Many NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball teams occasionally offer open tryouts.
If these athletes playing the highest profile sports of football and basketball (and in a few schools, hockey or baseball) command big money, the current paradigm of lucrative sports subsidizing less popular sports will come to an end. Right now, talented golfers, swimmers, and players in other sports such as tennis, volleyball, track and field, and women's basketball, can get scholarships even though the fan interest in their sports is minimal compared to men's hoops and football. The big money brought in by football and basketball keeps those lesser sports afloat. When jerseys, posters, highlight films, video games and the like bearing an athlete's name are sold in the future, that athlete, not his university, will reap the financial rewards.
It's quite possible some of these less popular sports will become "club sports" -- i.e., those that compete competitively with other universities but are not regulated by the NCAA and do not qualify for varsity status. Federal Title IX regulations, however, will undoubtedly preserve scholarships for some of these female athletes.
Some sports may be discontinued, and universities will undoubtedly have to grapple with the dilemma of male athletes who play football or basketball raking in far more money than any of the female athletes. The equity fiends will no doubt have a field day. Multiple cans of worms await us, and it ain't gonna be pretty.
Oh well, I'm going to stop worrying about it and go watch some March Madness. Have a nice day.
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