ESPN--Northwestern players get union vote

[GreenBat]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10677763/northwestern-wildcats-football-players-win-bid-unionize

[UNTFan23]

This will be interesting to follow.

[Ben Gooding]

This is the beginning of the end.

[H-towngreen]

Whats the taxes that the player would have to pay in Chicago for making $75,000 a year?

[UNTFan23]

Whats the taxes that the player would have to pay in Chicago for making $75,000 a year?

Federal taxes would likely be north of $10,000 even with educational deductions.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Whats the taxes that the player would have to pay in Chicago for making $75,000 a year?

That's just for the tuition, right? Then, they would have to be paid for room & board... yikes.

This could wind up being a fantastic opportunity for UNT and our "Best Buy in the West" (or whatever) angle! Since our tuition and room & board is cheaper than most other D1 colleges, we could pay that and tack on a little sumpm-sumpm for these guys.

Plus, no state income tax in Texas! You live in a dorm, so no property tax either!

Come one, come all to the new NCAA powerhouse in Denton, TX!

[Harry]

So funny that the Northwestern coach sided with the NCAA in the suit over the players whom he is supposed to care about the most. Of course he did, he's probably making north of a million.

The dirty little secret that is causing all of this stuff to come to a head is student athletes take all the risk but receive no compensation (other than books and tuition etc) while coaches salaries have skyrocketed.

This may be the beginning of the end of the NCAA as we know it.

[Cerebus]

This could wind up being a fantastic opportunity for UNT and our "Best Buy in the West" (or whatever) angle!

This would be terrible for us. If they are "getting paid", then there can't be a pay structure, that would be collusion. In other words everyone could just offer a player whatever pay they thought he/she was worth. There is no way a school from the non big money leagues (like us) could ever compete with any of the schools that are in the big money leagues.

If this happens, then there will be another split. We will end up in whatever is the top "non paid" league most likely. People will pay attention to it like they do FCS now.

[JesseMartin]

I wonder if it'll be an across-the-board thing. Someone pointed out earlier that it could be different for private vs. public schools and that state laws and other factors could play in as well. There very well may be an opt-in option too. Too early to freak out about anything right now, especially with the initial appeal still pending.

[CMJ]

Booster money is going to start being taxed if all of this keeps trending in the direction of unionization and coorporatization. Booster support will taper off and fans will not follow their teams with the same passion if players do things like striking, going to the highest bidder, etc.. College sports would be dealt a big time blow - even at the high levels. Schools like us are gonna really be hit hard.

[southsideguy]

I bet the school will close the program before treating the players as employees.

[Ben Gooding]

Hopefully. Maybe universities could simply close shop if this shit starts becoming a true threat. NCAA would do everything in it's power to get their money train rolling again.

[ragpicker]

Booster money is going to start being taxed if all of this keeps trending in the direction of unionization and coorporatization. Booster support will taper off and fans will not follow their teams with the same passion if players do things like striking, going to the highest bidder, etc.. College sports would be dealt a big time blow - even at the high levels. Schools like us are gonna really be hit hard.

Very good point. Personally, I don't care anything about pro sports (an oxymoron) for the reasons stated and for the fact that professional franchises provide no anchor with which to remain loyal. Pro teams are businesses that can, and do, relocate while hiring employees that go with the highest bidder. Business is business and sport is supposed to be a diversion from the mundane world of earning a living.

Of course, college football has become big business itself and perhaps it has had its day and we should begin showing our old school spirit for men and women's non- revenue sports. Believe me, there is no entertainment as exciting to me as college football, but if it is going to become tainted beyond redemption by filthy lucre and bottom line profit then, perhaps, it is it is time for it to go.

[NorthTexan95]

So funny that the Northwestern coach sided with the NCAA in the suit over the players whom he is supposed to care about the most. Of course he did, he's probably making north of a million.

The dirty little secret that is causing all of this stuff to come to a head is student athletes take all the risk but receive no compensation (other than books and tuition etc) while coaches salaries have skyrocketed.

This may be the beginning of the end of the NCAA as we know it.

You say "Other than books and tuition etc" as if that's a small thing. It's that "books and tuition etc" which allows those coaches to earn their money and allows someone like me to earn a living at doing something I enjoy and support my family.

[meangreenbob]

I can guarantee that if this mushrooms into the law of the land I will be finished with supporting UNT athletics and following college sports. No more Mean Green Club donations and no more season tickets. I am already having a difficult time justifying the money we spend now so when college athletes start getting paid to boot its time to walk away.

Edited March 27, 2014 by meangreenbob

[meangreenbob]

Harry, just remember that no one forces anyone to play college football.

[Harry]

Harry, just remember that no one forces anyone to play college football.

So you're ok with the NCAA making billions of dollars, the coaches making multi-millions and yet the players who actually risk their health and futures on the field getting nothing? Sure they get their books and tuition paid for but look at that in comparison to what these NCAA big wigs and coaches earn... Come on man, this isn't going to be allowed to continue. You can't continue to stash that kind of money away before someone raises a red flag. We have kids getting injured in games that can't even get their medical bills paid for goodness sakes!

Like I said before, the NCAA's greed is a big part of what is bringing this on --- so they have noone to blame but themselves.

And like the rest of our society, nobody at the NCAA really gives a shit because the big wigs have socked away enough money to take care of themselves and their families for a damn long time. It will be somebody else's problem.

[MeanGreenTexan]

So you're ok with the NCAA making billions of dollars, the coaches making multi-millions and yet the players who actually risk their health and futures on the field getting nothing? Sure they get their books and tuition paid for but look at that in comparison to what these NCAA big wigs and coaches earn... Come on man, this isn't going to be allowed to continue. You can't continue to stash that kind of money away before someone raises a red flag. We have kids getting injured in games that can't even get their medical bills paid for goodness sakes!

Like I said before, the NCAA's greed is a big part of what is bringing this on --- so they have noone to blame but themselves.

And like the rest of our society, nobody at the NCAA really gives a shit because the big wigs have socked away enough money to take care of themselves and their families for a damn long time. It will be somebody else's problem.

Really?

I thought they received free treatment by team doctors, who are paid by the university.

[Harry]

Really?

I thought they received free treatment by team doctors, who are paid by the university.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/sports/16athletes.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[JesseMartin]

I can guarantee that if this mushrooms into the law of the land I will be finished with supporting UNT athletics and following college sports. No more Mean Green Club donations and no more season tickets. I am already having a difficult time justifying the money we spend now so when college athletes start getting paid to boot its time to walk away.

Though that's not necessarily out of the question based on this ruling, note that they've determined that the compensation package (tuition, room, books, etc.) counts as pay for the service provided (football). Sounds like some of the other replies are based on this assumption too. I'm hoping the primary reason for the unionization is to ensure proper medical care like Harry pointed out. There's no reason to think that their compensation package is inadequate, but for them to end up paying for their medical care after the initial coverage by the University is crap if it's a football injury. I know, we all have old sports injuries that bug us as we get older but that's not what I'm talking about.

[MeanGreenTexan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/sports/16athletes.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

While some colleges accept considerable responsibility for medical claims, many others assume almost none, according to a review of public documents from a cross section of universities and interviews with current and former athletes, trainers, administrators and N.C.A.A. officials.

So where do UNT and other D1 universities show up? I would think if you choose to play at a D-2 college, or lower, where scholarships are significantly smaller, or just altogether absent, you're taking on alot of your own risk.

At Michigan State, for instance, Aisha Jefferson, a women’s basketball player with no private insurance, has had four operations for sports-related injuries without receiving a single bill.

I would think UNT would fall somewhere close to this.

The only mention of a D1 school I saw in this article was Ohio U, and it was mentioning a player who went for a car loan 6 years after his time there (which would fall before this NCAA mandate) and discovered he owed $1800.

[Graddean]

Harry, I don't think the NCAA is as much to blame as the power conferences. It was the lawsuit by Oklahoma and Georgia that opened Pandora's Box. The NCAA Asa group has tried to keep everything competitive. I blame the SEC more than anyone else. As one widely quoted book says, "The love of money is the root of all evil."-

[Harry]

Harry, I don't think the NCAA is as much to blame as the power conferences. It was the lawsuit by Oklahoma and Georgia that opened Pandora's Box. The NCAA Asa group has tried to keep everything competitive. I blame the SEC more than anyone else. As one widely quoted book says, "The love of money is the root of all evil."-

You make a good point. In fact, the television money and ESPN is part of the issue as well.

All I am saying is the schools need to share some of the dollars. It is not right that the coaches continue to see their salaries increase when the players' tuition, books etc stay comparatively flat. There should be some type of responsibility for injuries that occur when the schools are pocketing millions. It's only fair.

When you use the likeness of players to make a video game that sells millions of copies you have to reimburse the players who you are profiting from. You can't do stuff like that and expect to get away with it.

I want to see them level out the playing field. I am not one that believes the bigs will separate from the smaller schools. If they do that, it will make a lot of the lessor p5 programs become losers -- and they don't want that. So I think the threats of that are just empty ones.

When the NCAA made the decision to limit football scholarships to 25 it made a huge difference in the ability for smaller programs to compete. Before that you had teams signing 100 players just to keep them from signing with their opponents. That was wrong, it had to be addressed. We're nearing that same type of watershed moment again. It will be interesting to see how the NCAA responds.

[Ben Gooding]

Though that's not necessarily out of the question based on this ruling, note that they've determined that the compensation package (tuition, room, books, etc.) counts as pay for the service provided (football). Sounds like some of the other replies are based on this assumption too. I'm hoping the primary reason for the unionization is to ensure proper medical care like Harry pointed out. There's no reason to think that their compensation package is inadequate, but for them to end up paying for their medical care after the initial coverage by the University is crap if it's a football injury. I know, we all have old sports injuries that bug us as we get older but that's not what I'm talking about.

Mark Emmert tried to propose the 2k a semester stipend to NW players as a part of their unionization and they said, "that's not nearly enough." The sense of entitlement in the younger generation is mind boggling. Gets worse every few years. This is all about the moolah and nothing more. I'll be done with college sports if this progresses.

[meangreener]

Mark Emmert tried to propose the 2k a semester stipend to NW players as a part of their unionization and they said, "that's not nearly enough." The sense of entitlement in the younger generation is mind boggling. Gets worse every few years. This is all about the moolah and nothing more. I'll be done with college sports if this progresses.

If schools want to prove they mean business, they should threaten to pull their scholarships.

Edited March 27, 2014 by meangreener