The annual March Madness college basketball tournament is a billion-dollar enterprise, yet the student athletes who partake in the competition see none of the revenue. This is a central issue facing not only basketball, but the wider realm of college sports, where athletes have long been excluded from the financial successes their efforts yield.
However, the answer to this issue should not be found in adopting market-based laws comparable to those regulating professional leagues. Instead, it should focus on achieving balance; providing fair treatment to college athletes, while preserving the essence of college sports as a philanthropic, non-profit activity. This balance isn’t achievable through free-market principles designed to facilitate profit taking, it requires a different avenue. To that end, the NCAA should adopt revenue sharing rules that steer clear of these laws.
Despite its lucrative nature, intercollegiate competition is a nonprofit enterprise that produces intangible public goods. These consist of instilling valuable character traits within student athletes, such as perseverance, sportsmanship, cooperation, resilience, pride, and humility. To understand this, one needs to look no further than the famous motto of professional football – “Just win, baby!”. For college sports, however, the drive to win and generate profit is decidedly more secondary.
The notion of a tuition-free education as a sufficient compensation for student athletes has lost its relevance over time, a shift underscored by the US Supreme Court in 2021. Yet, nothing in tax exemption jurisprudence precludes reasonable compensation. Currently, the NCAA’s monopsony is the main obstacle standing in the way of student athletes receiving their fair share.
Moves towards rectifying the unfair treatment of student athletes are underway, with an administrative judge recently ruling that they qualify as employees and thus, are entitled to the protections of the National Labor Relations Act. In addition to this, a federal court declared the NCAA’s efforts to prevent student athletes from monetizing their talents and likeness as a violation of the Sherman Act.
NCAA President, Charlie Baker, issued a warning last month that treating college sports like professional sports could lead to a high percentage of student athletes being estrayed from the ethos of development through nonprofit athletic competition. Concerns rise around the idea that only those who assist in generating profit by winning would be allowed to play.
By remaining conscious of the multidimensional values of college sports, and avoiding the lure of fitting it within professional league frameworks, a more equitable treatment of student athletes can be carved out. This is the challenge now facing the NCAA and broader legislative bodies, as they seek to redefine the role and rights of student athletes within the lucrative realm of college sports.
For more insights from Professor Darryll K. Jones on the subject, read the full article here.