Written by The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously last Monday not to allow the NCAA to prohibit its student-athletes from receiving benefits related to their education. This decision opens the way to ending the current practice of making huge profits without sharing the proceeds with the players who earned them.
There’s no doubt that this is a historic shift. Some are calling it the end of intercollegiate athletics as we know it. I’m afraid I have to disagree. This ruling actually may save college sports.
Americans love college sports. Since Yale started a boat club about 180 years ago, we have flocked to college sports because of their history and pride, game day experience, and the enjoyment of the competition. Long before the large television contracts began manipulating the NCAA, people started building life-long affiliations to their favorite institution. Players would come and go, but traditions would continue to build.
Amateur sports are thriving in our country. Ever since parents realized it was unsafe to let their kids play in the streets unsupervised, organized youth sports leagues have grown in stature and appeal. Kids enjoy the competition, and their parents enjoy watching them. Kids eventually figure out which sport they want to specialize in, and those who excel at it make the high school team and compete for college scholarships.
Most do not realize the dream of playing collegiate sports and move on to other pursuits. But all benefit from athletic training and establish life-long memories. Getting that scholarship is a goal. It is within reach if you have a lot of talent, determination to do the work, and the passion it takes to persevere through the long grind of training, practices, and out-of-town tournaments.
Those who make it get the experience of a lifetime, but it is hard work. It involves even more training, more practice, and long bus rides. On top of that, you are a full-time student. Like many of the other students, you are working your way through college. Complete your degree, and you end up prepared for the different challenges that life presents. You move on.
Becoming a professional athlete is an entirely different path. First, you have to be a gifted athlete at a young age. Then, you have to be identified by a scout and placed into an elite training program. Finally, you need to stay healthy and prove that you are physically and mentally prepared to compete against the best athletes in the world.
Most professional sports organizations follow this model to build their pipelines of athletes needed to keep their competitions alive. Soccer teams have clubs. Golf and Tennis have academies. Though technically amateur, high-profile Olympic sports like gymnastics, figure skating, and track and field also identify, displace, and groom the gifted young rather than wait for them to evolve out of a hierarchy.
Furthermore, it seems like most superstars in professional sports are now second-generation professional players. So it’s not good enough to be born as a gifted athlete. You have to have parents who were talented athletes. Many of the rising stars in Major League Baseball, like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., are sons of former players. Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is the son of a Cuban baseball legend, and his older brother plays for the Houston Astros. Guerrero Jr. plays on a Toronto Blue Jays team with second-generation major leaguers Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio.
The three big American professional team sports have evolved differently in how they utilize collegiate athletics as part of their talent funnel. As a result, each will be impacted differently by the Supreme Court decision.
Baseball has the most negligible impact. Major League Baseball developed a minor league from the sport’s outset to develop its talent while providing smaller cities teams to follow. The minor leagues were an integral part of its tradition. When collegiate baseball emerged, it blended well with its system. Star players have a choice to either go to college or go directly to the major leagues. With greater exposure for its World Series when ESPN began televising it, fans became more interested in it without disrupting the balance between the NCAA and MLB. As a result, MLB has been able to restructure its minor league system to focus on developing its younger talent while incorporating those who choose to play college ball.
College basketball has had to adapt over the past several years and has done it successfully. Young superstars groomed through elite “amateur” organizations funded by shoe companies can find their way to the NBA without being too bothered by the burden of higher education. The “one and done” system emerged to allow them to showcase themselves in the NCAA tournament. In addition, the NBA developed its minor league and expanded its connection to international club teams to improve its pipeline.
The NBA recently created an all-star exhibition team called “Ignite” to showcase top players who choose to bypass playing in college before declaring for the NBA draft. The players get paid a decent salary and provided a college scholarship if they decide to pursue it. Two of the top five prospects for the upcoming NBA draft played for this team last season.
Football benefits most from the current system and has the most to lose due to the supreme court’s decision. At least financially. The NCAA provides the NFL with a minor league system while benefitting from large television contracts. The only losers are the top players capable of playing professional football before becoming eligible for the draft.
I see three good results coming out of this long-overdue decision. First, highly talented basketball and football players will benefit sooner from their skills and abilities. Second, although college football may be less appealing without the 5-star recruits, it will restore a competitive balance. I would expect we see something similar to what we have seen in basketball after the “one and done” policies started. No longer would it be a massive surprise if Alabama or Clemson were not playing in the championship game. Fans will still pack college campuses on Saturdays.
Finally, it will be a welcome change to have a profit-sharing scheme to filter the revenues down from the NCAA, conferences, and teams to the players putting in the work rather than using it to pay for stadium expansions and head coach salaries. It’s about time!