The discussion about whether collegiate athletes should be paid or not has been ongoing for years now. Folks have discussed it on national television, radio and other media outlets, but nobody has done anything about it until now.
Jeffrey Kessler filed a lawsuit which names the NCAA and the five biggest conferences (Big Ten, the Southeastern, Pac 12, Atlantic Coast and Big 12) as defendants. Kessler finds it unfair how the NCAA is able to generate millions upon billions of dollars off these athletes, while the athlete is struggling to come up on the next twenty dollars.
“The main objective is to strike down permanently the restrictions that prevent athletes in Division I basketball and the top tier of college football from being fairly compensated for the billions of dollars in revenues that they help generate,” Kessler told ESPN. “In no other business — and college sports is big business — would it ever be suggested that the people who are providing the essential services work for free. Only in big-time college sports is that line drawn.”
“We’re looking to change the system. That’s the main goal,” Kessler said. “We want the market for players to emerge.”
The NCAA tries to sell these student-athletes on scholarships, room, board and books, but the price of those compensations don’t remotely compare to what the NCAA makes off these athletes.
“Do fans care that the coaches on these teams are making millions of dollars?” he said. “Do fans care that these programs [collectively] are generating billions of dollars in revenue? I don’t think it will be an issue for fans if some reasonable, fair portion of the revenue goes to the athletes, many of whom never graduate or most of whom never have a pro career but along the way contribute to the revenue pie of college sports.”
Kessler played a key role in bringing free agency to the NFL in 1992, after winning a critical jury verdict for the NFL Players Association.
“This will end up saving college sports,” he said. “It will end up with fair treatment for athletes and a more sustainable, attractive product and system that everyone can get behind, just like in football, basketball, baseball and hockey at the pro level. The owners in the 1970s said free agency and competition for players would destroy those sports. All you have to do is look at those sports today — just the opposite has happened.”
It’s refreshing to see someone represent the college athlete. It’s totally unfair how these athletes dedicate their time to their school, which generates great revenue and they aren’t able to receive any compensation.