So college football and basketball players at the Division 1 level are finally going to get paid to play. The conferences and the individual institutions, by way of the NCAA, have gotten the go-ahead to pay each player a maximum of $2,000 for participating each year.

After all the conference realignment talks and the billions of dollars in TV revenue allocated to the Super Conferences, the NCAA finally decided to take into consideration the needs of the little guy responsible for its one-sided cash windfall.

How much are the Super Conferences bringing in, you ask? The Big 12 TV contract is for $1.17 billion, PAC-12 is $3 billion, ACC is $1.86 billion, Big 10 is $3.8 billion and the SEC is $3.075 billion.

The Big East still hadn’t reached the 12-team requirement for Super Conference status at print time, but with the money the fellow conferences are generating from TV networks, it is frantically scrounging for teams to add so that it, too, can dip into the TV cash black hole.

Mark Emmert, NCAA president, commented on the recent decision to pay student athletes: “These changes demonstrate a remarkable resolve by presidents and represent a return to and a focus on values that are at the core of what intercollegiate athletics are all about. They also represent a clear signal to the world about what we care about and what we stand for.”1

What a strong statement and gesture by Emmert and the college presidents. Boy, do they solidify what they stand for. They will keep the billions of dollars in TV revenue earned off of the labor of student athletes in exchange for $2,000 a year per player.

Keep in mind that these payments are only going to football and basketball players; the student athletes in nonrevenue sports will continue to fend for themselves.

In order to maintain the college’s nonprofit status, the NCAA was quick to add to the payment scenario that the money will be for uncovered living expenses, which are not covered by the student athlete’s scholarship. So it is not deemed a payment, but a stipend. They don’t want to have to pay taxes on the extra billions they are receiving from TV.

Now, this extreme generosity comes with a small, yet distinct catch. Each individual institution will, at its discretion, determine how much, if any, of the $2,000 it will pay student athletes. The institutions don’t have to pay the $2,000, but with the other conference members paying the full amount for their hired labor, they will have to pony up in order to stay competitive in recruiting each year.

The Mid Major conferences will not be able to match the estimated $400,000 it will cost to pay for play, thus virtually eliminating their chances of securing or paying for the services of elite athletes.

As an added bonus, student athletes have the opportunity to sign multi-year scholarship contracts, as opposed to the single-year scholarships of the past. Once again, it is at the liberty of the individual institutions to determine which student athletes receive these extended contracts.

You can only imagine the added disparity that will ensue if Bobby and Britney both sign one-year contracts, and some star high-school player signs a four-year guaranteed contract. They will be required to perform at a standard determined by the individual institution in order to have their contracts renewed.

I will be the first to say that I am glad the NCAA has taken the needs of student athletes into consideration. I still don’t think it’s enough or that it’s fair across the board. It is, however, a small step in the right direction.

The NCAA has closed the issue of payments to student athletes for the next three years, when it will be conveniently readdressed at the end of the NCAA’s contract with the BCS. At which point, it will convert into pay for bowl games rather than a playoff system.

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