Free College Athletes – Jodi Balsam

College athletics have been undergoing rapid change over the past five years .

Authors: College athletes are now able to monetize that right through endorsement deals and other commercial activity free from NCAA interference.

They say college athletes are subject to a host of specialized rules and restrictions affecting their financial aid, off-campus jobs, course and major selection, class attendance, academic support, housing, meal plans and socializing.

In the wake of specialized state legislation protecting college athlete publicity rights, the NCAA withdrew its blanket prohibition on college athletes exploiting their NIL .

In the breach, schools operated off-the-books through booster organizations and “ NIL collectives” to offer de facto “pay-for-play” The current regulatory landscape is a compliance minefield, lacking clarity and predictability.

The body of customized private rules has effectuated a similar transfer of wealth from revenue-sport athletes to nonrevenue sports, athletic departments, conferences, and the NCAA .

Deregulation is optimal because it is more likely to achieve the goals of the stakeholders on all sides of the issue, says Julian Zelizer .

NIL compensation has already facilitated spreading out talent among more schools, he says.