that players can't sell their own property. I can't think of anything like that remotely similar for any other business.
Ohio State makes over $100 million a year, Urban Meyer makes $24 million over 6 years, the Big Ten Network, the richest college sports television deal in the land, pays member schools almost $25 million each(except for Nebraska which doesn't receive full payments yet) but the athletes, who without them -- none of this would be possible can't even sell their own property. I haven't even talked about the Bowl Games, March Madness (makes more money than any championship event in the US except for the Super Bowl), or what the NCAA rakes in as a whole.
To understand how unethical this is, people shouldn't look at it from a sports perspective just for a second and look at it from strictly an economics POV. Imagine a business which rakes in massive revenues while paying their labor force (think bus company which isn't possible w/o bus drivers like you can't run a football business w/o football players) an extremely low, below market value, wage. We'd all cry fowl over any other business which made insane revenues but management got the lion's share of the profits while fixing and suppressing the wages of labor (the monopsonistic rule that schools can't offer more than the scholarship and limited living expenses). That doesn't even include that they can use their likeness in advertisements for free, jerseys(which team shops keep star player numbers in stock rather than just any number), or the NCAA Football video game series, although they don't use real names and claim their likeness isn't similar, you'll have #15 QB for Florida which is roughly the same size, weight, skin color, and skills(can break tackles & run) as Tim Tebow. Not only that, if you have an internet connection, you can easily download named rosters or you can just name the players yourself pretty accurately since the starters' numbers match-up w/ real life counterparts. All while being watched like a hawk by coaches, administrators, and the NCAA in-case you break one of their many minor, overly complicated rules w/ harsh penalties.
The usual arguments center around that they are there to be students and they should be satisfied w/ a scholarship, exposure, and the idea of keeping college sports pure. I would accept that idea if the NCAA wasn't so hypocritical. First, the scholarships are for 1-year only which allows coaches to replace players w/ better recruits so athletes, especially those near the bottom of the depth chart, have to spend a great deal of time honing their craft in order to get that 1-year scholarship next season while also dealing with a grueling schedule w/ practice, travel, game day, and fulfilling the required 12-credits. The scholarship and living expenses are far below what they would demand in teams had to compete for the athletes services and the starting QB is currently receiving the same payment as a blocker on the kick return unit. They don't have the same value. If the concept of amateur student-athlete really that important, they would give 4-year scholarships. They would also stop w/ the Thursday night games which doesn't help them academically but is a big money maker for the schools from ESPN. They wouldn't try to get the best nationally/regional television deals possible.
The biggest scandal is why the term "student-athlete" even exists is because they lost a case in the Colorado Supreme Court in University of Denver v. Nemeth which required the University of Denver to provide an injured football workman's compensation since he was legally an "employee" under state law. The NCAA created that term in order to avoid them being in employees in which case they don't have to abide by the NLRA and other labor laws which would mean they would enjoy the same labor rights we all enjoy. Athletes either have to have their own health insurance or stay on their parents or get stuck with all the costs. Some schools do fully cover their athletes' injuries, Iowa seems to be the best out of Division I schools. I do hope Lattimore at-least gets a check in the NFL as he could be stuck w/ some big medical bills when he leaves college. The reason why the NCAA pushes the myth of "student-athlete" is so that they don't have to play their players a fair market wage because that would reduce their profit margins. The same schools that helped create the rules are the same ones that violate them(an Ohio State rep is on the Academic Cabinet which deals w/ rules & eligibility regarding GPA, transfers, etc.) They'd rather have fixed low wages and cheat on the side rather than getting in a bidding war for the nation's best prospects. Every business that doesn't care about ethics wishes they could have the power the NCAA does.
If paying athletes (the same way schools compete for the services of coaches) ever became a reality, most schools would eliminate most if not all of their athletic programs unless there was a very low salary cap which would only be possible if the NCAA players unionized as you can't have a salary cap without a union. However, in any other business, we typically don't ignore anti-trust & labor laws because the business will fail if you don't.
One thing I wanted to correct on is that Terrelle Pryor was cleared of the car thing. He came to Ohio State with a Hyundai Sonata he owned prior to college. He was pulled over for speeding in a GMC Yukon Denali which he was test driving because he was interested in purchasing which he didn't. He traded in the Sonata for a Black Dodge Charger. He was seen driving a White Dodge Charger which the dealership loaned to him when his Dodge Charger was in for repairs. Then his mom purchased a Nissan 350Z for him with a 14% interest rate so it wasn't a case of using Pryor's future earning power to get him a car. Pretty mundane stuff compared to the sensationalist headlines when the story broke that they were investigating him for the cars.
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