NCAA v. Alston With all that is going on with NIL and the portal. Here is a good read why the NCAA went hands off. Basically the NCAA lost in court 3 times all the way up to the Supreme Court. The SC affirmed the lower courts saying the NCAA was violating antitrust laws and the Sherman act. Now this particular case had to do with educational compensation. The SC couldn't rule on non education compensation because the plaintiffs (Alston) took it out of the suit before it made it to the SC. BUT... The SC said in their ruling that any future lawsuit concerning non education compensation would get serious scrutiny and Alston laid the groundwork to dismantle NCAA rules on the topic.
NCAA asks US appeals court to block pay for student-athletes It's the only thing they have.. "tradition" I think I smell another loss coming the NCAA's way.
The AP article you cited does say: They are not seeking pay equivalent to their market value, but only a modest across-the-board pay rate similar to those earned by work-study students, the lawyers said. Sounds great. It usually does. However, just prior to that, in the same article, these same ambulance chasers said: Lawyers for the student-athletes said that weekly, they often spend 30 hours or more on their sport and often need money for expenses, even if they are on full scholarship. And they believe the athletes deserve a share in the millions that are spent on coaches, college administrators and facilities — and the billions that networks pay to televise college sports. I think we all know exactly where the lawyers are trying to take this. We've been talking about it for a year or so now.
They want to be paid their fair market value for the money they are helping generate just like an NFL player and I really don’t see much difference.
This is starting to sound very similar to the NFL and players arguing about a collective bargaining agreement. Years ago the NFL thought they could put scrubs on the field and still collect their money. They found out they were wrong. They better forget about their greed and work out a fair agreement before many of the fans like me who don’t watch the NFL anymore get sick of the shit.
There are substantial differences but this has become yet another polarizing topic and I'm not adding to the polarization. I've said what I wanted to say, if not I'll be clear: We all know the lawyers prefer the low-hanging, big $$$ fruit. They don't care one bit about the players who will be impacted or how the majority of them will be impacted.
You do realize that the NCAA uses lawyers as well, don't you? Does the NCAA's lawyers give a rat's ass about the players who will be impacted or how the majority of them will be impacted?
The players not getting paid because they are not what we are paying to see? I hope they are getting a free education. WhTs good for some are not what’s good for all and they are not all equals, far from it.
Article on the case. https://www.si.com/college/2023/02/15/johnson-v-ncaa-court-hearing-employment-status
I do think that the colleges and the NCAA are going to have a difficult time convincing any court that the current environment is nothing more than a de-facto pay for play. The only ingredient missing is a formal employment arrangement. Particularly because of the lassaiz-faire approach the NCAA took to implementing and enforcing (a farce) the NIL rules. I know that lawyers and people with an agenda don't have much trouble creating a far-fetched narrative that serves their goals, but its going to be difficult to stand up in front of a court and convince them that 99% of the Joe Football NIL deals were really predicated on their brand value and not just a Ponzi scheme inducement to play for State U. I can't imagine how the NCAA can win this case based on the current environment. However, a loss in this arena may (and probably should) change college football permanently. I think it immediately sets up another pro league but without the legal protections (anti-trust) that allow the NFL to keep teams competitive. It will involve State as well as Federal employment protections that will make it difficult to create a single set of standards for every NCAA member (some States are at-will employer States, some are not). It might eliminate the current eligibility rules in that once you become an employee you can remain as long as you keep performing your duties....we may see a lot more 30 year old QB's that are on their 10 or 11th year of playing for team x (or team y if they take a job somewhere else). Additionally, job mobility will probably be unlimited since the courts frown upon non-compete arrangements that don't allow the employee to be able to earn a living in their chosen field. In other words, if you think the NIL watershed moment in College Football opened up Pandora's box, when this goes through you ain't seen nuthin' yet.
Your probably right. The SC doesn’t make employment laws the suit a certain sector, it’s for all citizens. All employees rights, not so we can enjoy watching a game.
