A Supreme Court case being argued this week amid March Madness could erode the difference between elite college athletes and professional sports stars.
If the former college athletes who brought the case win, colleges could end up competing for talented student athletes by offering over-the-top education benefits worth tens of thousands of dollars. And that could change the nature of college sports.
At least that’s the fear of the NCAA. But the former athletes who sued say most college athletes will never play professional sports and that the NCAA’s rules capping education benefits deprive them of the ability to be rewarded for their athletic talents and hard work.
The NCAA only allows players to earn tuition and cost of attendance for their participation in athletics.
The NCAA practice of prohibiting players from profiting off their name, image and likeness has been debated in recent years, with a number of states passing legislation to force the NCAA to allow players to profit off of their name.