Of course. They have been ripped off – slaves with no pay – for 50+ years. The Supreme Court should have gone further than it did.

The concept that Ohio State makes $900 million/year on NCAA Athletics and the players get bupkis is absurd.

No. No more than high school athletes.
Colleges making money is different because they are in business to make money. The students aren’t.

@kritiper Colleges making money is different because they are in business to make money.

That’s not what most colleges are for. They are institutions of learning and get special treatment because of that. And money from athletics doesn’t pay for academics.

And I guess you like indentured servitude. The NCAA won’t let you go to another school unless Massa says its okay.

Aren’t the students/athletes getting free tuition and room and board for playing?

@zenvelo The primary usefulness of a secondary education is just that: an education. Paying amateur athletes spoils the meaning of the word “amateur.”
And if this “amateur” college athlete blows his knees out, will the colleges pay for his recovery?? Don’t bet on it!
@chyna No. They pay their way just like all the other students.

The whole idea of sports is WAY overemphasized and thus, ridiculous!

I honestly have never thought about it.

So, the schools are making a fortune? Is that right? Then why the hell do people always tell me it’s the sports that cause very high tuitions when I complain that no one is addressing high tuition fees?

Should college sports players get free tuition? Isn’t that their pay? I guess maybe not everyone on the team gets a free ride? Is that the case?

I have more questions than opinion right now.

I think they should be attending classes, studying, and learning. Isn’t that the whole purpose of college?

It’s always seemed unconscionable to me that the NFL and NBA use collegiate sports as their version of the minor leagues.

Hell no! They are getting compensation! But they’ll probably get paid eventually; college as well as other sports (including ones like horse/dog-racing are so freakin’ crooked it’s criminal, literally.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2019/10/01/ncaa-football-basketball-benefits-college-athletes-now-can-receive/2439120001/

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/10-ways-college-athletes-can-get-paid-and-remain-eligible-for-their-sport/

I don’t think they should get a cash stipend. But getting school related expense money beyond room board and tuition seems reasonable.

@kritiper There haven’t been “amateur” athletes at that level since Avery Brundage died.

The NCAA rules prohibit compensation for anything beyond tuition, and on campus housing and meals. No stipend for a tube of toothpaste or binder paper, let alone pocket money for a social life.

@smudges Only the top athletes at the “cornfield” universities get any real chance at those programs. A defensive lineman at some small state university isn’t getting a chance at posters and magazine shots.

At most of the Division 1 schools, an athlete who says he has a test tomorrow doesn’t get to skip a workout so they can study, but instead better be suited up and ready for practice. And that includes being in the weight room during the off season.

The highest paid state employee in 41 states (exceptions: Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont) is a football coach.

The Universities and Colleges lost any credibility about the money machine of NCAA rules decades ago. It is time to free the workers from their chains.

Absolutely. Without question.
The NCAA is a cartel making billions off the backs of unpaid labor who are throwing their bodies around and risking their lives.

@Caravanfan Do you know if the students get any sort of long term disability coverage or life insurance while playing for the school?

@kritiper – however ridiculous you think a multi-billion dollar industry is, is irrelevant. This is about exploitation for profit.

@Smashley Where exactly does the profit go? Are public universities allowed to make a profit?

@zenvelo But they are considered amateurs. No other student could be paid as much. How fair is that? Unless the whole education thing is free of charge to all students…
@Smashley Be that as it may, the students are there for an education. Unless you consider sports more important.
Also, I don’t question the “exploitation for profit” part. Employers make profit off of employees, isn’t that the same thing??

@JLeslie Ha! No.

@JLeslie No, no disability coverage for student athletes. Wreck your knee your freshman year, you not only don’t get disability coverage, you also lose your “scholarship”.

@kritiper They are considered “amateurs” so that the schools and the NCAA don’t have to pay them. But their “contracts” say they have to wear the brand of uniform, including socks and shoes, dictated by the coaches who get paid to select the brand.

Yes college athletes should get half the money that they make for the college playing sports. Why should the colleges get all the money and the athletes take all the risks of injury?

@kritiper – ok, so you accept that these athletes are employees. Why then, no matter how many hours they put in, no matter how much money their product produces for the school, no matter the risks to health, life and future earning potential the employee takes for the profit of the school and the paycheques of the myriad coaches, contractors, executives, tv announcers, beer advertisers, video game manufacturers and tv networks, is it ok that the employee can never earn more than a chit for a few years tuition?