Over it’s course the NCAA has became a billion-dollar corporation. With its continual exploitation of its athlete, several people have drawn towards taking a stand against its “corrupted” system. The NCAA is classified as a “Non-profit Organization” by terms, but represent a total different style of operation. An enormous part of it's revenue comes from media rights; 81% of revenue comes from CBS sports & Turner broadcasting who has inked a lucrative 14 year deal with the NCAA valued at $10.8 billion.
There are over 450,000 collegiate athletes who compete for their respective schools, yet no forms of financial means to be compensation to them for efforts. Student- athletes have demanding standards to meet, putting their bodies, livelihood, and time on the line to represent the university at little to no cost. From an analytic standpoint just imagine the amount of revenue each university generates annually; take into account that student-athletes are not making any money off the universities profit. The top college sports that generate the most profitable revenue is Football ( $29,635,946), followed by Basketball( $7,880,290). The top 5 Universities In the NCAA generate over $150 Million dollars in revenue per year, with Texas A&M at the top - $192.6 Million dollars.
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In College basketball a vast majority of its revenue is generated during the NCAA March Madness Tournament, with the increasing media coverage worldwide the NCAA will generate a high source of income. With earnings of nearly $900 million in revenue one would think the athletes would benefit of this transaction, we've been mistaken. Whether we choose to believe it or not everyone gets paid, from the coaches, athletics department, doctors, and trainers, everyone within the university benefits off the revenue except for its student-athletes. LeBron James recently shared his thoughts with ESPN on the NCAA and opened up on how he feels about their business intentions. LeBron James decided to skip college to play in the NBA and with his experience playing at the professional level he had the chance to analyze ways in which the NCAA exploits collegiate athletes.
“ I don’t know if there’s any fixing the NCAA. I don’t think there is. - LeBron James (@espn)”
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“I’m not a fan of the NCAA, I love watching March Madness. I think that’s incredible, I’m not a fan of how the kids don’t benefit from none of this. - LeBron James (@espn)”
We now draw our attention to another prominent figure in sports history, a trailblazer to say the least. The former UCLA bruin and 1995 NCAA Champion Ed O'Bannon spoke up to the Player's Tribune on his past experiences as a student-athlete, while emitting a light on the representation of unpaid amateur athletes. In 2009, Ed O'Bannon battled in a lawsuit against the NCAA for its violation on anti-laws. The NCAA used O'Bannon's image in a video game without compensating him on their earned profits. In 2014 O'Bannon won his case, in hopes of being a primary advocate for student-athletes to get paid. Ed is still optimistic as he takes a declarative stance on why college athletes will get paid.
From a Business standpoint we all know the impact highly touted recruits bring to a university, in most cases coaches are profiting massively at the expense of it's athletes. With the increasing pressures and demands coaches put on recruiters to attract the top prospects to it's campuses, one can look at this as a brilliant marketing tool the NCAA utilizes to profit off the value of its athletes. The NCAA continues to undermine to importance of sharing profits made off the kids, hopefully O'Bannon can stand firm in hopes of creating an alternative way for student-athletes to enjoy their piece of the pie.
“I think it’s really cut and dry as this: If you help make the money, you should be able to share the profit, that’s the American way. - Ed O’Bannon
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Contributor: Ed O'Bannon
Special Thanks: @playerstribune , @cycle , @espn
Source: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ed-obannon-ncaa/