PHILADELPHIA — College athletes whose efforts primarily benefit their schools may qualify as employees deserving of pay under federal wage-and-hour laws, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday in a setback to the NCAA.to the NCAA's long-held notion of “amateurism” in college sports, said that a test should be developed to differentiate between students who play college sports for fun and those whose effort “crosses the legal line into work.
Lawyer Paul McDonald, representing the plaintiffs, has suggested that athletes might make $2,000 per month or $10,000 per year for participating in NCAA sports. He said that many students need the money for everyday expenses. Defendants include the NCAA and member schools including Duke University, Villanova University and the University of Oregon. An NCAA spokesperson did not immediately return messages seeking comment Thursday.that spawned the NIL payments lifted the ban on college compensation beyond full-ride scholarships. Schools recruiting top athletes now can offer tens of thousands of dollars in education-related benefits such as study-abroad programs, computers and graduate scholarships.
Baylor University President Linda Livingston, speaking at the NCAA convention in January, said that model would turn coaches into their players’ bosses.