Connecticut Women’s Basketball HC Geno Auriemma says of NIL: "I think it’s a test. It’s a test for whether people are full of sh-t or whether they’re serious. It’s a test for do we keep the charade of student-athlete and amateurism or do we call it what it is: semi-professional, pay-for-play sports? Either keep the charade of student-athlete – teams wouldn’t be going 3,000 miles to play conference games if it had anything to do with student athlete welfare, that’s number one, so we obviously threw that in the garbage can, so let's just call it what it is…and then let’s make it a business and figure out how do we manage this business. Other sports have done it. Pro sports have done it. They sign kids to contracts, and you're bound to your contract, and let's honor the terms of the contract. Let’s do it. You’ve already got kids holding out. You’ve already got guys playing and going ‘I ain't playing anymore until I get more money.’ So we've become professional sports. " He adds of the transfer portal: “How about we teach kids how to make a commitment and stick to it? … A coach can leave anytime he wants. I can. I have a buyout. That’s a great idea, let's sign kids to a contract and let’s put a buyout in it. Let’s make it a business because that's exactly what it is. That would fix it. And let's have a salary cap. … So, they're getting close, but they’ve got to start calling what it really is and not be ashamed of it. The kids aren't ashamed of it.” (link)"
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So how do we implement those suggestions?
How do you add a buyout to a player's contract without violating anti trust laws?
Auriemma notes pro sports have done it. They've done it by making their "players" employees, forming a union, and arbitrating a salary cap and buy out framework that the players' union agreed to. It is a precedented path collegiate athletics could implement to end the Wild Wild West if and when they eventually choose to do so.
How do you feel about making athletes employees?
How do you feel about a national union of those employees, with a player representatives from each school, like the NFL does?
How do you feel about arbitration?
No matter how you feel -- for it or against it -- would the employee/union produce better results than the Wild Wild West?
##
So how do we implement those suggestions?
How do you add a buyout to a player's contract without violating anti trust laws?
Auriemma notes pro sports have done it. They've done it by making their "players" employees, forming a union, and arbitrating a salary cap and buy out framework that the players' union agreed to. It is a precedented path collegiate athletics could implement to end the Wild Wild West if and when they eventually choose to do so.
How do you feel about making athletes employees?
How do you feel about a national union of those employees, with a player representatives from each school, like the NFL does?
How do you feel about arbitration?
No matter how you feel -- for it or against it -- would the employee/union produce better results than the Wild Wild West?
