I don't think Swarbrick is wrong. There has to be NCAA goverance of NIL. I would think 10 smart people could get in a room an create a structure where players are compensated for their marketing activities vs. pay-for-play.
I am mixed about employee status, not sure it is a bad thing, but it could open up schools for significant medical liabilities that could cause schools to drop sports to limit their long-term financial risk. The NCAA came out on top in the recent CTE lawsuit by a former USC players wife, but that won't be the last lawsuit.
My biggest struggles with the current dynamic is:
- It doesn't seem the legal system/Congress has put a value on an athletic scholarship. For example what is the equivalent hourly wage for a student athlete at Iowa State? Put a value on the scholarship (tuition, room, board, training services, coaching, etc.) and divide by hours spent on sport- are athletes making the equivalent of $20/hour? $30/hour? or What?
- Revenue sports like football and men's basketball pay for the sport operating costs and academic scholarships for 300-400 other student athletes on campus. If football and basketball players earn a significant share of revenue, then I think that is the end of Olympic sports supported by Universities. Maybe they just become club programs.
- The billionaire owners of professional football and basketball teams have been let off the hook by Congress. High School athletes should not be precluded from jumping directly to NBA or NFL developmental leagues.
But the NCAA has nobody to blame but themselves. Not so much from a financial perspective, but making sure the academic role of the student athlete is on a higher plane than the sport experience.