http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/26/nlrb-ruling-gives-players-first-labor-union-win/

Sorry, I'm on mobile.

As a lawyer who practices in this area, let me say that unless the NLRB ruling is overturned, college football will never be the same. If athletes want to be employees, and negotiate wages, hours and working conditions, they will be professionals? And if they are professionals, do they really need colleges? Why not just a minor league? Why the pretense of being a student athlete? And if they remain college affiliated, will a poor performance on Saturday be open to suspicion as a union ploy for more or less of this or that or as precursor to someone or other's grievance? As a player, can I file a grievance if Harry is starting and I am not? What if the other running back got more carries than I did? What if the guys up the road (or across the bay or in the other conference) are getting more pay or benefits under their contract than I get under mine? Will the private schools have the biggest budgets and thus the fattest union contracts and thus the best teams? What if I want to stay out and practice my blocking/tackling/place kicking technique after practice? Can my rivals file a grievance against me? If we screw up and the coach tells us to do 50 up/downs can I refuse and file a grievance? How much of my union dues will go to supporting the national organization and its political causes? Can I refuse to play in an away game because the hotel accommodations only marginally meet the union contract specifications?
Let's say it's 2015 and all this has come to pass. Will you alums out there be inclined to contribute and the same or higher level to support your union team? Will you throw up your hands and walk away from it all? Will you buy a ticket to watch your union team play against their union team?
Is the response to do away with scholarships altogether, so there is no question of pay? Just club sports all around?

If we continue down this path, I can see college football becoming nothing more than a true minor league for the NFL, where the players are paid and are not students at all. Colleges would still recruit players to their teams and the players would be employees with wages, health insurance, etc. They would not be enrolled in the university or attend classes. The NCAA could become the entitity that negotiates salaries, benefits, and working conditions with the union on behalf of the universities (just as the NFL does with the NFL Players Union). At least this arrangement would do away with the sham of today's student athletes who in many cases have specially arranged majors and take phony classes. I don't like it, but I fear it may come to this.

I could live with the club sport model. Or Ivy.

NYCGOBEARS;842296898 said:

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http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/26/nlrb-ruling-gives-players-first-labor-union-win/

Sorry, I'm on mobile.

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That's ok NYC...it's a booth anyway......:p

http://bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83214

Deutsch;842296973 said:

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Why the pretense of being a student athlete?

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A. That's all you had to say in my book. The current system is a joke.

B. How would you defend a company making money on the likenesses of players who aren't rewarded a dime?

C. Before you say "They get scholarships," see Point A.

TheBears;842297316 said:

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A. That's all you had to say in my book. The current system is a joke.

B. How would you defend a company making money on the likenesses of players who aren't rewarded a dime?

C. Before you say "They get scholarships," see Point A.

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B is just a different form of identity theft - companies making money on the unwilling backs of others.

The point of academic scholarships, and the hurdles to qualify for those scholarships, is apparent, including need.

The point of athletic scholarships is ... athletics, and the preparation and ability of athletes to compete as students, with graduation as a goal, is almost always secondary.