Student-Athletes or Employees?

Should student-athletes be considered as such, or should they be considered as employees of their college? Especially since the rise of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), this is becoming a rising question. These athletes produce a lot of revenue for their schools through ticket sales, as well as bring awareness to the universities through NIL deals with big brands.

The big discussion surrounds the University of Southern California and its football and men’s and women’s basketball players. If this law is passed, however, it will concern other athletes in the NCAA.

The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against the NCAA, Pac-12 Conference, and USC as they regard their players as student-athletes. However, Jennifer Abruzzo, the general counsel for NLRB, believes these athletes need to be considered as employees, and should be treated as such.

This discussion is a nightmare for the NCAA. Classifying student-athletes as employees makes the schools share their money with players, as well as coaches, administration, and facilities. Looking more into the situation, there are a lot of legal issues and violations with making the players employees. There

are conflicts with Title IX, immigration laws, IRS policy, and state workers compensation laws, and potentially could be a First Amendment violation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

So what will the athletes receive if this case is on the side of the athletes? Well, they would receive all of the benefits of an employed person in the state of California. This includes monetary compensation, social security, and overtime, just to name a few. Athletes will also have the ability to unionize and bargain with the schools they play for.

The hearing for this case will take place on Tuesday, November 14, and it should be interesting to hear the turnout of this case and how it will affect all other student-athletes and colleges.

Something we might also consider is how the other students at USC would feel about their peers’ becoming employees of the school, as well as having full rides to the same university. While the average student isn’t bringing in the same revenue, do you think that it’s fair for their peers to essentially get paid to receive the same degree as them?