My plan to compensate student-athletes indirectly based on the amount of
revenue they generate individually.
Problems with current system 1. High-profile scandals at major football universities including Miami, Ohio State, and USC involving the paying of athletes and selling of memorabilia. 2. Players arent always given due process rights in defending themselves against accusations of violations. 3. A majority of college athletes are living below the poverty line. 4. A record 102 players entered the NFL Draft early (before finishing degree) this season. This stat has been trending upward for several years. o Students arent finishing their education, leaving them no fallback plan if their playing career doesnt pan out. o If they were getting some income while in college, they wouldnt be as inclined to jump to the professional ranks in search of money. 5. Insufficient health care that allows schools to refuse to renew scholarships if a player suffers a career ending injury.
My Proposed Resolution Players should be allowed to profit from memorabilia sales, autograph signings, endorsements, etc. o Helps solve problem 1 (scandals) by making the selling of memorabilia and other branding legal. o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by giving students a source of income. o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by allowing athletes to earn money while in college. Scholarships should cover the full cost of attendance (extra $3,200). o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by not forcing students to pay extra money for their education. o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by giving them some extra money while in college. Student-athlete enters into a four-year scholarship commitment with the school upon signing Letter of Intent. Scholarships are worth $180,800 ($45,200 annually) and contract covers medical expenses stemming from sport-related injuries. Decommitting, transferring, failure to maintain the academic standards, or committing a violation results in loss of scholarship. Otherwise scholarships are valid until the athletes eligibility expires or they declare for the professional draft. Walk-ons can earn scholarships at any point and their contracts also remain valid until they leave the school. o Helps solve problem 1 (scandals) by locking student athletes into contracts that prevent them from decommitting or transferring if another school bribes them. o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by ensuring students a source of income and not forcing them to pay for sport-related injuries out of pocket. o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by giving them more freedoms and rights while in college. o Helps solve problem 5 (health care) by ensuring that students dont have to pay for sport-related injuries. All former college football players qualify for $6,000 per year medical insurance, and $3,000 for former hockey players. In other sports with less contact, athletes receive the insurance only if they are known to have sustained a major injury in college. o Helps solve problem 5 (health care) by providing athletes with medical insurance to cover lingering effects of injuries, especially brain trauma. Student-athletes are given due process in all cases. o Helps solve problem 2 (due process) by ensuring that student-athletes can defend themselves. o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by giving athletes more rights while in college. Create an educational lockbox that can be accessed by the student-athletes once they receive their college degrees if they had committed no NCAA infractions. Only scholarship players would receive a lockbox. Money for the lockbox would come from: o A portion of the schools revenue from bowl games/tournaments, TV deals, ticket sales, etc. generated by that sport (mostly just for football and mens basketball players). Capped at $5,000 per student per year Could cause a larger gap between haves and have-nots, but players on better teams do generate more money Plus high level recruits dont go to lower level schools and weaker players dont get offers from higher level schools o Money for winning certain individual awards such as the Heisman Trophy and Wooden Award. o Helps solve problem 1 (scandals) by providing players with sources of income so that they dont need to seek illegal benefits. o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by only allowing students to access their lockbox if they stay in school and earn their degree. The athletes, not the schools, receive 7% of the money generated by sales of their replica jerseys at the end of each year (after their sports season). o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by allowing some players to have a steady stream of income. o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by allowing athletes to earn more money while still in college. Players receive a portion of the profits from NCAA video games, and the companies are allowed to include player names in the games. o People already know who the players are, so the athletes are currently being exploited. Giving the players some money and including the names would give players the credit they deserve and make the game less complicated. o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by allowing all players to receive guaranteed money. o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by allowing athletes to earn more money while still in college.