NLRB Decision Could Lead To Compensation For College Athletes
In a surprising decision this week, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that football players at Northwestern University meet the standards necessary to form a labor union. The decision was seen by many as a possible first step towards college athletes receiving compensation for their activities on the field.
The decision has already been described as “landmark” and labor law experts are already saying that it could reshuffle the existing college sports system in profound and lasting ways. Though it is too soon to know exactly what the outcome might be, it is possible that the NCAA may soon be forced to provide benefits, including health insurance and even possible financial compensation, to players.
The Chicago regional NLRB office made the decision and it remains to be seen whether it will be upheld at the national level. If it is, then experts believe there could be a flurry of activity among college athletes trying to form unions of their own, including those in sports outside of football.
The current ruling only applies to the Northwestern football program, but it is easy to imagine it being broadened to apply to other Division I scholarship athletes at private schools. The reason the ruling is limited to private universities is that state, rather than federal, labor law govern collective bargaining at public schools.
The push began when a Northwestern quarterback, Kain Colter, decided that players should be given the right to unionize. Colter brought the case before the NLRB and argued that the long hours that he and his teammates spend practicing and playing football that helps earn Northwestern millions of dollars should qualify them as employees who are able to unionize.
The NLRB agreed with Colter and ruled that players who receive athletic scholarships to play football perform athletic services for a private university and are essentially under a contract for hire. As a result, the NLRB ruled that the players should be viewed legally as employees. The ruling noted that players spend substantial time working for schools, up to 50 hours a week. Additionally, they directly report to coaches who function as supervisors and who can choose to revoke athletic scholarships if athletes fail to perform as required.
The ruling comes as the NCAA is in the process of negotiating a television deal to air college football playoffs that experts say is worth around $7.3 billion over 10 years. The current deal to broadcast the annual men’s March Madness basketball tournament is worth nearly $11 billion. Despite all the money sloshing around, athletes don’t see a penny of it; something that has prompted many to call for changes to the way the NCAA handles athlete compensation.
Though no one is ready to say the decision will automatically lead to paid college athletes, it is another chink in the NCAA’s armor. Whether and when the existing college athletic system will be remade remains to be seen, but many believe we have moved one step closer to the day when that change finally occurs.
Source: “Pay For Play Next? Labor Board OKs a College Athlete Union,” published at NBCNews.com on March 26,2014.
Source: “College Players Granted Right to Form Union,” by Ben Strauss, published at NYTimes.com on March 26, 2014.
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