SCOTUS Strikes Down Restrictions on Benefits Restrictions in Unanimous Vote

[GreenLantern]

Supreme Court rules against NCAA restrictions on colleges offering educational perks to compensate student-athletes
By Robert Barnes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-ncaa-student-athletes/2021/06/21/777e4718-d290-11eb-9f29-e9e6c9e843c6_story.html

 

[He15man]

The NCAA is quickly becoming an archaic, completely irrelevant institution. Not only are rulings like this completely neutering their influence, they do it to themselves by not upholding rules or penalizing those who CLEARLY break certain rules ... especially rules that pertain to recruiting. There are MOUNTAINS of evidence that P5 football teams (a few more than others) pay recruits big money to go there. But does the NCAA actually do anything about it? Nothing whatsoever, because they make more money with Alabama, Clemson, Ohio St and others in the championship conversation than not.

Complete hypocrites. So rulings like this just continue to contribute to their eventual demise.

 

[GMU_DCU]

What does this mean for smaller schools...ehm Mason...being able to compete at all?

 

[GSII]

What does this mean for smaller schools...ehm Mason...being able to compete at all

 

[GSII]

I think the ruling was specific to educational benefits. Not the NIL stuff.

 

[tblack33]

What does this mean for smaller schools...ehm Mason...being able to compete at all?

Honestly probably not all that much different than the way things are now with the transfer market, facilities, etc. Some kids will fall to us, kids will get recruited over and transfer down, and outside of a handful of really big money teams, kids won’t make a ton of money from schools themselves. The endorsement side of things is an entire other animal and will be very interesting tho.

 

[GSII]

Let's say a kid signs NIL deal at first school with a car dealer. Then transfers after 2 years. Can first school sue him for damages or some other reason. I'm sure the universities aren't gonna make this easy. NIL and transfer portal aren't gonna mix well.

 

[tblack33]

Let's say a kid signs NIL deal at first school with a car dealer. Then transfers after 2 years. Can first school sue him for damages or some other reason. I'm sure the universities aren't gonna make this easy. NIL and transfer portal aren't gonna mix well.

School has nothing to do with car dealer. This happens in the pros all the time with trades and guys who have local endorsements. It’s probably a clause in most endorsement contracts, nothing crazy.

 

[Pablo]

Supreme Court Rules Unanimously Against NCAA In Alston Case

In one of the most significant sports law decisions in U.S. history, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled unanimously against the NCAA in NCAA v. Alston. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion…

www.sportico.com

"When it began eight years ago, the Alston case threatened far more dramatic changes. The case challenged NCAA caps on compensation of athletes, with the idea that schools act as a cartel in limiting how much each can pay. . . That possibility ended when Judge Wilken and the Ninth Circuit held that the NCAA can lawfully restrict athletics-related expenses. However, the courts also held that the NCAA violates the law by restricting expenses that are “tethered” to academics.

Also important: Alston is not about obligating schools to spend more on athletes in the context of academic-related expenses. Rather, the ruling provides schools with the discretion to do so. To that end, schools will soon more freely vie with one another for athletes, just like they compete—and sometimes outbid—for coaches, staff, faculty, fundraising, admissions, media attention and numerous other targets. If a college doesn’t wish to reimburse a higher dollar amount for academic-related expenses, it need not take any action. The school might become less attractive to recruits, especially if comparable schools choose to reimburse. But that’s how competition works.

The most consequential impact of Alston is likely to be felt in the years ahead. The ruling repudiates a long-standing NCAA argument that it is owed favorable treatment under federal antitrust law. Particularly from the lens of precedent, the NCAA likely regrets appealing the Ninth Circuit’s ruling to the Supreme Court. That decision led to this new precedent, which will govern the relationship between antitrust law and college sports for decades ahead."

 

[GMUgemini]

All I see are loopholes and shady dealings with this ruling.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

This is a powerful statement from Justice Kavanaugh.

"The bottom line is that the NCAA and its member colleges are suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenues for colleges every year."

Hard to argue that that's not the case.

But I also think it is the beginning of the end of big time amateur college sports for football and basketball. Maybe baseball too. Ironically, I can see this actually hurting a program like Alabama.

 

[GreenLantern]

Impressive to me was the unanimous vote.

 

[He15man]

This is a powerful statement from Justice Kavanaugh.

"The bottom line is that the NCAA and its member colleges are suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenues for colleges every year."

Hard to argue that that's not the case.

But I also think it is the beginning of the end of big time amateur college sports for football and basketball. Maybe baseball too. Ironically, I can see this actually hurting a program like Alabama.

I don't know if it's as dire as signalling the end of big time college sports, mainly because I think there will always be those P5 fanbases that treat those teams like religions and pack stadiums on the weekend, watch them on TV, buy their merch, etc. But what I think will change BIGTIME is the proverbial "arms race" spending by many of these programs (e.g. the $100M locker room facelifts, the multimillion dollar salaries and almost automatic pay bumps for less success P5 head coaches and coordinators, the hasty decisions to swallow HUGE buyouts to kick a guy out for the new sexy coaching name, etc). I just don't think colleges will have the disposable revenue to make those kinds of financial moves as frequently as they do, perhaps except for the universities with stupid-rich alumni and boosters. But even then, colleges are going to be forced to be more thrifty and wise with their spending.

To be honest, i think what we'll see the biggest and most immediate change in is P5 college basketball. It won't be long before high schoolers are either allowed to go from HS to the NBA again, or they start more prevalently going overseas for a year to get paid and then declare. That'll create a much more level playing field across the NCAA landscape competition wise, which is good for Mason

 

[Walter]

This is a powerful statement from Justice Kavanaugh.

"The bottom line is that the NCAA and its member colleges are suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenues for colleges every year."

Hard to argue that that's not the case.

But I also think it is the beginning of the end of big time amateur college sports for football and basketball. Maybe baseball too. Ironically, I can see this actually hurting a program like Alabama.

I don't have time to read about this. But, why would this ruling hurt Alabama more so than non-P6 schools?

And, sure the P5 schools are getting rich but almost everyone else is hemorrhaging money. Sports is a money loser for almost all non-P5 schools.

 

[GMUgemini]

I don't have time to read about this. But, why would this ruling hurt Alabama more so than non-P6 schools?

And, sure the P5 schools are getting rich but almost everyone else is hemorrhaging money. Sports is a money loser for almost all non-P5 schools.

Professionalizing college athletics would destroy almost all of division 1. I could not imagine a scenario where you’d say it was Ok for students to subsidize the pay of college athletes through student fees, nor would donations be permitted under a professional structure, would they? To say nothing of the fact that football players are asking for a 50% revenue share which would decimate all non- revenue sports (and thus kill the US Olympic program). That’s the game for about 90% of D1. There might be 25-30 schools left.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I don't have time to read about this. But, why would this ruling hurt Alabama more so than non-P6 schools?

And, sure the P5 schools are getting rich but almost everyone else is hemorrhaging money. Sports is a money loser for almost all non-P5 schools.

I should have been more specific about Alabama football, where the standard is a Nat'l Championship. But my thinking is if boosters can now ostensibly pay top recruits to play for their programs (openly, I mean) I can see this leveling the field between 'Bama and some other programs like a Southern Cal or Texas.

Bama still has Saban and that counts for a lot, but does septuagenarian Nick want to keep coaching in a world where he isn't signing 1 out of every 5 5-star recruits like his last class.

And 'Bama fans are rabid. Obnoxious, toothless, and fat, but they're rabid and their boosters will throw money at recruits, now legally. But I've been to Tuscaloosa. I've also been to Austin and Los Angeles. And there's a whole Hell of a lot more auto dealerships & brand-building opportunities in those markets. And there's more in places like Seattle, Ann Arbor, Miami, Atlanta, and Columbus too. Even Knoxville is twice as big.

 

[GMUgemini]

I should have been more specific about Alabama football, where the standard is a Nat'l Championship. But my thinking is if boosters can now ostensibly pay top recruits to play for their programs (openly, I mean) I can see this leveling the field between 'Bama and some other programs like a Southern Cal or Texas.

Bama still has Saban and that counts for a lot, but does septuagenarian Nick want to keep coaching in a world where he isn't signing 1 out of every 5 5-star recruits like his last class.

And 'Bama fans are rabid. Obnoxious, toothless, and fat, but they're rabid and their boosters will throw money at recruits, now legally. But I've been to Tuscaloosa. I've also been to Austin and Los Angeles. And there's a whole Hell of a lot more auto dealerships & brand-building opportunities in those markets. And there's more in places like Seattle, Ann Arbor, Miami, Atlanta, and Columbus too. Even Knoxville is twice as big.

It'll be a lot more restrictive than that if student-athletes become employees of the university rather than scholarship athletes. Even as a grad student who taught, I was under contract on top of my scholarship.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

The NIL endorsements popping up right at midnight from players last night.

No going back now. College athletics will never be the same again.

Auburn QB Bo Nix Becomes First College Athlete To Sign Endorsement Deal After Rule Change (PIC)

The NCAA, effective July 1, allow collegiate athletes to profit off name, image and likeness, releasing their new NIL Policy after a year long battle with the court system. The first collegiate athlete to take advantage of the new rule was Auburn QB Bo Nix, who at 12:02 a.m. announced a...

dailysnark.com

 

[bravesfan]

Gonna be great seeing the monetized Youtube channels that accidentally expose program violations.

 

[Masonfan3]

The NIL endorsements popping up right at midnight from players last night.

No going back now. College athletics will never be the same again.

Auburn QB Bo Nix Becomes First College Athlete To Sign Endorsement Deal After Rule Change (PIC)

The NCAA, effective July 1, allow collegiate athletes to profit off name, image and likeness, releasing their new NIL Policy after a year long battle with the court system. The first collegiate athlete to take advantage of the new rule was Auburn QB Bo Nix, who at 12:02 a.m. announced a...

dailysnark.com

Time will tell, but I believe this is going to be horrible for college athletics, especially for mid majors. You are going to have boosters paying kids before they even arrive on campus and the bigger school boosters will be able/willing to pay more. Some kids are going to prioritize money/endorsements over school and their craft. It is difficult enough for student athletes to juggle playing, practicing, class, homework, but now you throw in doing commercials or whatever else it is that they want to do to make money. I am not against kids being able to make a little something (outside of the full scholarship) but this is not the way to go...in my opinion.