College sports morphed into professional minor leagues some time ago and should be treated as such
Such melancholy ignores the numerous lawsuits that exposed how players earned nothing, while coaches and administrators collected multi-million dollar salaries.
Such an imbalance made reform inevitable and any return to pure amateurism impossible.
The antitrust precedent prevents the NCAA from imposing compensation limits without collective bargaining. With billions in media revenue at stake, athletes in revenue producing sports will never accept a system where they do not share in the profits. NIL deals have only accelerated this shift.
College sports morphed into professional minor leagues some time ago and should be treated as such. Solutions include taxing athletic departments as unrelated business income, removing their tax-exempt status, or designating them as for-profit subsidiaries.
Since antitrust law and interstate commerce are inherently federal domains, Congress cannot avoid involvement.
Some insist only federal law can impose salary caps, standardize NIL, and salvage competitive balance in a system they see as unsustainable.
How about a purist return to academics first with no scholarships and no pay?
Such an idea is truly naïve as the economic incentives are much too powerful. Coaches’ salaries that were once capped by unwritten norms have exploded with players naturally wanting their share of the booty.
There are just some things Congress needs to leave alone, which guarantees they won’t.
Whether the solution lies in deregulation, taxation, collective bargaining, or federal legislation, the issue remains deeply contested.
However, nearly everyone agrees on one point: whatever Congress does next it will almost certainly leave the dumpster burning hotter than before.
