The Associated Press, by Eddie Pells
By 2024, it will be time to finally bid adieu to collegiate athletes who participate as amateurs.
The idea, in principle, persisted obstinately via the antiquated and now largely discredited belief that student-athletes competed solely for honors, a scholarship, and some food money.
In reality, amateurs have been vanishing for years as a result of the consistent millions—now billions—that have poured into collegiate athletics, primarily through basketball and football, both legally and illegally.
The last traces of amateur collegiate athletics are anticipated to formally sputter out in the upcoming year, marking the end of a journey that has been inevitable since 2021. The Supreme Court thus established the basis for compensating collegiate athletes for endorsements on TV, video games, social media, or anything else that features their name, image, or likeness (NIL).
Up until now, the reforms have been implemented in spurts, not always well-considered, not always equitable, and not governed by a single body like the NCAA or the federal government. Instead, they are governed by a number of state laws, as well as regulations at individual institutions and the leagues in which they compete.
However, what was previously thought to be anathema to the entire idea of collegiate sports will become the standard on April 7, the day final approval is anticipated for the historic, $2.8 billion lawsuit settlement that establishes the basis for players to earn money directly from their institutions.
The NCAA’s vice president for academic and membership relations, David Schnase, admits that it can be difficult to preserve collegiate athletics’ distinctive character in the ever-changing environment.
“Anything you want can be called a pro, amateur, or whatever you want,” Schnase remarked, adding that these terms are merely labels. Labels are significantly less important than experiences and situations. The situation is different now than it was a year ago, and it is probably going to change in the near future.
Do athletes get rich off these new deals?
Few would contend that collegiate players ought to receive compensation for the billions of dollars they contribute to through ticket and television sales, retail sales, and other sources.
Will everyone cash in, though? Are collegiate athletes truly becoming wealthy?
FILE: On Saturday, September 28, 2024, in Orlando, Florida, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, speaks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during a timeout during the second half of the team’s NCAA college football game versus Central Florida. (File: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo)AP
According to recent headlines, top basketball recruit A.J. Dybantsa is leaving for BYU, a hoops powerhouse, for an estimated $7 million, while top quarterback prospect Bryce Underwood was attracted to Michigan by billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s backing.
However, there are far more Matthew Slukas and Beau Pribulas for every Underwood or Dybantsa.
According to Sluka’s agent, his son accepted a quarterback position at UNLV on the condition of earning $100,000, but he left the team three games into the season when the checks never arrived.
Earlier this month, Penn State backup quarterback Pribula unexpectedly went through the transfer portal, opting for college free agency over a chance to participate in the College Football Playoffs with the Nittany Lions. He is not alone in using the portal in an attempt to make a fortune prior to the implementation of new rules pertaining to the NCAA settlement.
James Franklin, the coach at Penn State, stated, “We have issues in college football.”
The current system will be redesigned as part of the settlement. At the moment, players get paid through third-party collectives, which are organizations connected to specific schools and supported by boosters. Soon, the schools will pay the athletes directly. This is commonly referred to as revenue sharing, and collectives are still an option, but not the only one.
According to plaintiffs’ lawyer and antitrust expert Jeff Kessler, who assisted in drafting the settlement, it will be more open. The system will only get better if the schools are in charge of all the payments.
Data on NIL payments, which go back to July 2021, is now being gathered by the NCAA.Data from over 140 schools in over 40 sports in 2024 is included in its initial batch of figures, which reveals a stark disparity between the wealthy and the poor.
For example, men’s and women’s basketball players and football players make around $38,000 on average. The largest contracts, however, significantly distort the average, as evidenced by the median salary, which is the middle figure among all the data points on the list at just $1,328.
Women make vastly less than men
Additionally, the data reveals a significant gender pay gap, which may affect schools’ capacity to adhere to Title IX.Schools must offer equal financial aid and sports scholarships under the 1972 statute, but they are not required to spend the same amount of money on men and women.As 2025 approaches, it is unclear how this problem will be resolved.
In any case, the figures are startling. According to the NCAA data set, women in 16 sports made an average of $8,624, while men in 11 sports made an average of $33,321. The average salary of male basketball players was $56,000, while that of female players was $11,500.
FILE – On Thursday, August 1, 2024, in Colombes, France, Abigail Tamer, third right, of the United States, celebrates with her teammates after scoring the first goal for her team during the women’s Group B field hockey match between the United States and Britain at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium during the 2024 Summer Olympics. (Aijaz Rahi, File/AP Photo)AP
Paying players could cost some and benefit others
Field hockey players, swimmers, wrestlers, and other athletes in the so-called non-revenue sports—whose programs also happen to constitute the backbone of the U.S. Olympic team—may be the biggest losers from this shift toward a professional model.
Now that universities must utilize cash to pay the most sought-after players in their athletic programs, there may be cuts to the minor sports because just a small portion of those athletes are becoming wealthy.
Additionally, the money that will now be distributed to the gamers will need to be backfilled by someone. Not all schools have access to wealthy donors like Ellison, and private equity firms have not begun to contribute funds.
The typical fan will have to pay, and over the past six months, dozens, if not hundreds, of sports directors have been pleading with alumni for funds and alerting them to impending changes. Some institutions have already started charging more for concessions or tickets.
How will college sports fans react to a more transactional model?
According to Nels Popp, a professor of sports business at the University of North Carolina, “I’m not sure why fans have such a strong affinity for the concept of 100% pure amateurism.” What matters to them, in my opinion, are the brand, colors, and logos. I’m not sure if it matters to them if the players are making a lot of money or not. The fact that they have been profitable for the past few years may be deterring fans, but I’m not sure.
Olympics got rid of amateurs and turned into a multibillion-dollar industry
When the Olympics unwound the last vestiges of pretense that the great majority of their athletes were anything other than full-time professionals in the 1980s, amateurism was last attacked in this way.
There was a hint of realism in the metamorphosis: The show’s creators ought to gain something from it. There is a strong argument that they are still underpaid even after forty years.
In collegiate athletics, the similar debate is taking shape.
In order to increase openness in a business that is still heavily controlled by the schools despite the impending reforms, athletes are advocating for the creation of a players organization.
Although the NCAA acknowledges that players must be paid, it has no interest in making them full-time employees of the universities they represent. Many in college athletics are desperately trying to avoid this costly prospect, which is making its way through the legal system through lawsuits and labor hearings, out of concern that it will drive the entire sector off the financial cliff.
One of the few things that everyone agrees on is that we are not returning to a time when athletes feigned pride while the money flowed through shadows and beneath tables. And that the change in college athletics may perhaps be just getting started, not the finish.
At some point, I think people might have to understand that maybe college athletes don t go to college anymore, Popp said. Or perhaps they skip class during the season. More drastic alterations might be made, but I doubt that fans will give a damn as long as they’re wearing the appropriate colors and insignia.
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