Publication Date
2022
Abstract
College sports generate approximately $8 billion each year for the National C[artel] Athletic Association and its member institutions. Most of this revenue flows from lucrative television broadcasting deals, which often incorporate the right to commercialize and sell the names, images, and likenesses of college athletes. Under its current revenue scheme, student-athletes-85 percent of whom live below the poverty line-receive a share of zero. For over a century, we've justified this exploitative distribution scheme under a cloak of student-athlete "amateurism." Antitrust challenges to the NCAA's amateurism rules clash with the assumption that "amateurism" is a revered tradition and an important tenet upholding the value and integrity of U.S. college sports. But is this true? Is amateurism in U.S. college sports such hallowed ground? And, if so, what values should animate the distinctions society values between collegiate and professional sports? Does it mean college athletes shouldn't get paid?
Recommended Citation
Casey E. Faucon, Assessing Amateurism in College Sports, 79 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 3 (2022).