re: Northwestern football players win their petition to unionize

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Les Miles is making $5M because he runs a multi-million dollar organization that drives enough revenue and benefit to the university to justify that...thus, he is compensated accordingly.

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This almost sounds like a PR release from an agent for college football coaches. The coaches work for an organization that doesn't pay players, unlike the NFL. The money that the organization makes has to go somewhere. Since the players aren't payed beyond the cost of their scholarships, the money is thus spent on facilities and coaches' salaries. If T Boone Pickens or Phil Knight could pay players in a truly capitalist system, the money would be going to Marcus Smart, DeAnthony Thomas, etc.

The single largest group that benefits from all this is the coaches, who get treated as if they are in a capitalist system, while none of the people they oversee, except for lowly compliance and administrative employees, are.

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College athletes are simply kids who have a great opportunity that many would kill for. Not employees

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as a current athlete i couldnt agree more

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Scholarship income is defined under the tax code as non-taxable income. Unionizing has literally nothing to do with how income is taxed.

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If they get pay or compensation on top of the scholarship.

Here is a scenario that shows why this is a bad idea.

Football players are unionized, so the 85 scholarship players now get paid.

The 35 non scholarship players are mad. They still have to practice and workout, and be the scout teams for upcoming games. The non scholarship players band together and say "Pay us the same as the starters/scholarship players because we are just as important as the starters and scholarship players! If you don't pay us, we will walk out and you will have to use game day contributors for your scout teams"

Then the walk ons start getting paid. Now the student managers want a piece of the pie. "We wash the players uniforms and clothes, distribute and maintain their equipment, and help run practices among other things. You can not operate without us!"

The student managers are now getting paid, and the student trainers see what they did. "We tape ankles, distribute water and Gatorade, and do other essential tasks for the football program. Pay us or your players will die of dehydration at practice"

So now the student trainers are getting paid. The student video staff who films practices and games now want in. "We film all your practices and games, cut up the video and organize it all. Without us, how can you critique practices and games?"

See where this is going?

They won't. All the NCAA has to do is declare unionized players ineligible and this ends.

Whatever it takes to bring back the NCAA football game.

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Sure, a college athlete has received a great opportunity. But they signed a contract and agree to perform services in exchange of compensation. As per the terms of the contract, the school can control the athlete's performance and even restrict his ability to earn income elsewhere. How the hell ISN'T that employment? I don't even think this is a particularly close call.

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Sure a college athlete has to make certain sacrifices, but it's up to each individual to decide whether or not it's worth it.

why not spinoff the football and basketball programs into a separated entity?

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fine, call it employment. but it's still a contract the players have agreed upon

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Sure. And now they can collectively bargain to alter the terms of that contract. What's wrong with a freely negotiated contract?

Damn, I wish people would f'n READ the damn decision before bitching about it.