The Supreme Court’s ruling today flips the idea of NCAA amateurism on its head. And it’s about time. Because the NCAA brand needs new thinking – to even survive.
The decision says the NCAA cannot bar modest payment to student-athletes, setting the stage for a greater challenge about amateurism as a whole.
I never thought I’d agree with Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But as he said, “Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate.”
The NCAA Brand – where it’s in trouble
Of course, the NCAA doesn’t want athletes profiting because it and its member universities want that money for themselves. Its cloak of righteousness simply serves as a cover for its true intentions. It doesn’t care about amateurism. It cares about money.
This situation brings to mind the case of Curt Flood, the baseball player who refused a trade and took the case to the Supreme Court after the 1969 season. He lost. But his effort was akin to the Alamo. It rallied the troops to eventually gain free agency. Basically, Flood uncovered baseball’s hypocrisy for the world to see.
So, other than pure dollars, how is the Supreme Court’s ruling a danger to the NCAA brand? For one thing, most of us understand the idea of college amateurism stretches believability. Coaches cheat. Some players take money or gifts from boosters. And the NCAA has no way to police it.
The NCAA brand is a joke.
Then there’s this
The NCAA brand is also under threat from its own conferences. The consolidation of conferences in the last decade proves the NCAA remains ineffective. The power conferences are taking control of their own destinies by negotiating their own TV contracts – and will soon do the same with players.
The conferences pool their resources as NCAA thinking slowly drowns in quicksand. The NCAA brand means old thinking, stagnant development and way behind the times. Even the Supreme Court agrees.
What’s the NCAA brand to do?
The NCAA should accept the Court’s ruling and move on. Accept times are changing and fair is fair. It needs serious brand repair, propelling it as a forward-thinking organization in lockstep with today’s world. Because the NCAA brand stands weakly right now. And is losing the public trust.
Once you lose that trust, it’s hard to get it back. But there are steps the NCAA can take. Get ahead of the next court case by outlaying a fair plan for all sides. And, most importantly, mean something other than amateurism. Opportunities to capture the minds and emotions of institutions, coaches, players, and fans float out there for the taking.
Otherwise, the conferences will continue taking over, players will win in court and the NCAA brand will be left wondering what the hell happened.