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Thursday, August 26, 2021

Price-Fixing College Sport

 The National Collegiate Athletic Association has been the main governing body of US college sport. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization has come to generate more annual revenue than the National Basketball. It generates a revenue of $8 billion.

From its inception, the NCAA and its member institutions have sidestepped government oversight, independent watchdogs and public outcry to maintain a price-fixing scheme, under the veil of amateurism, that has restricted athletes from receiving what the market will pay them. Essentially, players have only been permitted to receive compensation in the form of a tuition scholarship plus room and board. Effectively a cartel.

 In June, the US supreme court unanimously ruled that the education-related benefit caps the NCAA imposes on student athletes are in violation of US antitrust law. 

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, wrote “The NCAA is not above the law. The NCAA couches its arguments for not paying student athletes in innocuous labels. But the labels cannot disguise the reality: The NCAA’s business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry in America...Price-fixing labor is price-fixing labor.

Ten days later, the NCAA announced it will allow players to profit off their name, image and likeness, relaxing restrictions on things such as ad campaigns, autograph signings, paid appearances.

How US college sport became an $8bn inequity racket. And why it may fall | College sports | The Guardian

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