For years there has been an argument on paying college athletes. The NCAA rules have prevented the players from earning any money while maintaining amateur status and playing for their college of choice. We all remember the last time it occurred. You have seen the movie about the Pony Express. SMU’s football program was given the death penalty after paying their players.
Many thought that we were heading in the right direction with NIL bill (name, image, likeness) that would allow players to earn money off their own names. While there has been some progress, it was still in it’s infancy stage. However, while that has been a work in progress the athletes of the Pac-12 Conference have gone ahead and taken things into their own hands.
According to the Players Tribune, they have made a list of demands or they will boycott the season. Some of those demands directly reflect the COVID-19 situation as college football seasons draws near. While other demands are in regards to pay for players. This has been brewing for some time now before the demands were made known to the public.
The Players of the Pac-12 will opt-out of fall camp and game participation due to COVID-19 and other serious concerns unless the conference guarantees in writing to protect and benefit both scholarship athletes and walk-ons. #WeAreUnited https://t.co/KQ3oqdB5BL
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) August 2, 2020
COVID-19 Protections
Allow option not to play during the pandemic without losing athletics eligibility or spot on our team’s roster.
Prohibit/void COVID-19 agreements that waive liability.
Their first set of demands according to the Players Tribune concern COVID-19 agreements. Next we will look at the demands concerning pay for administrators, staff and the commissioner.
Preserve All Existing Sports by Eliminating Excessive Expenditures
Larry Scott, administrators, and coaches to voluntarily and drastically reduce excessive pay.
The demands go on to list ways to combat social injustice such as civic-engagement task force, assist those who come from low-income households and help with medical expenses. Then there are the requests for proper financial compensation.
Fair Market Pay, Rights, & Freedoms
Distribute 50% of each sport’s total conference revenue evenly among athletes in their respective sports.
The list of demands has sparked conversation nationwide about how college football and fall sports could function under these demands? As previously stated, NCAA rules prevent athletes from being paid. The conference would likely need to separate from the NCAA unless they drastically changed their rules. If you read about the potential for Power Five conferences hosting their own championship, this was already a possibility.
If the Pac-12 gave in to these demands, the remaining Power Five conferences would have to follow suit. For the Texas Longhorns, they earned $156.1 million in revenue last season. For a split among the players, it would come out to about $780,000 per player based on 100 players on the team. If you calculate it by the Big 12 it comes out to about $312,5000.
This just creates more questions based on do they take out money for tuition? Do they keep their scholarships? Are all athletes paid the same? Do preferred walk ons gets a smaller amount? This is a huge dispute that the whole college football world will be monitoring.
Stay tuned to Longhorns Wire as we keep you up to date.