By: Richard M. Southall, Mark S. Nagel, Ellen J. Staurowsky, Richard T. Karcher, Joel G. Maxcy
Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
Release date: 06-27-23
The research for “The NCAA and the Exploitation of College Profit Athletes” is meticulous and the analysis on these complex issues is simply superlative. The writers eloquently demonstrate how the NCAA, college universities, and administrators have profited substantially off the labor of student athletes, while hiding behind the myth and propaganda that they are amateurs – thus they shouldn’t be compensated. The NCAA wisely crafted the term “student athlete” to protect the collegiate model of doing business.
Make no mistake, the power five’s football and basketball offerings are big business with several NCAA athletic fields bigger than NFL stadiums. Major corporations sponsor NCAA football and the annual march madness, which is a television juggernaut. The SEC’s television football package was recently awarded to ESPN for $3 billion. Clemson’s Dabo Sweeney, who once remarked that he would quit coaching if the players were paid, is enjoying a $93 million contract.
As noted in the book, in 2017, the NCAA passed the NFL is sports wagering. This work outlines how the NCAA has prevented the players to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. It was also noted that universities have made the means to play athletes for decades, but recently the players were granted the right to benefit from their NIL. However, they should have always had this right, and the NCAA has once again avoid sharing the profits. The hypocrisy of the NCAA is on full display in this book, pointing out that Russel Wilson was allowed to play minor league baseball and be paid, but was still considered a student athlete for college football. This is a must have book for all fans of NCAA sports.
