Nathan Kalman-Lamb: This case could revolutionize college athletics because, unlike Dartmouth, which sets precedent only for private institutions, the NLRB is treating USC, the Pac 12, and the NCAA as joint employers, which means that public schools may also be covered by the ruling.

"Coaches have been allowed to manipulate and coerce athletes for a long time. I bet many would consider it a part of the job." - former SEC 🏈 player The USC NLRB case may put an end to that--and be even more significant than Dartmouth MBB unionization. Our latest, for Jacobin.

A New Day for College Athlete Unions Could Be on the Horizonjacobin.com College athletes have long been classified as amateurs rather than employees to avoid paying them and granting basic worker rights. A National Labor Relations Board ruling at USC could change that, op...

This case could revolutionize college athletics because, unlike Dartmouth, which sets precedent only for private institutions, the NLRB is treating USC, the Pac 12, and the NCAA as joint employers, which means that public schools may also be covered by the ruling.

“College sports is big business. College athletes generated almost $16 billion in revenue for [schools] in 2019, without being able to negotiate... compensation or working conditions. The antidote to this out of control greed is unions.” - Bernie Sanders

A New Day for College Athlete Unions Could Be on the Horizonjacobin.com College athletes have long been classified as amateurs rather than employees to avoid paying them and granting basic worker rights. A National Labor Relations Board ruling at USC could change that, op...

As of 2022, 49 athletic departments generated more than US$100,000,000 of revenue, with 22 producing more than US$150,000,000, and six more than US$199,000,000.

Players receive only scholarships and small stipends, while 36 head fball coaches make more than $5 M per year, 66 assistant fball coaches make more than $1 M per year, 21 strength coaches make more than $500,000 per year + 51 athletic directors make more than $700,000 per year.

The USC case also gets at an issue fundamental to the exploitative dynamics of college sport: as we document in our forthcoming book *The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of an All-American Game*, the extent to which coercion governs participation in college football.

It is coercion that enables the racialized exploitation of big-time college sport: the $1.2-1.4Billion annual racial transfer of wealth from disproportionately Black athletes in P5 revenue sports to disproportionately white coaches + AD admins under the subterfuge of amateurism.

Based on interviews we conducted with former P5 college football players for our forthcoming book The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of an All-American Game (@uncpress.bsky.social, Fall 2024), players agree that coercion is a defining feature of the sport.

A New Day for College Athlete Unions Could Be on the Horizonjacobin.com College athletes have long been classified as amateurs rather than employees to avoid paying them and granting basic worker rights. A National Labor Relations Board ruling at USC could change that, op...

USC (SoCal) is private, so is it the publics in the PAC 12 and NCAA that trigger the expansion to publics ?

The USC case includes the PAC and NCAA as joint employers—if the NCAA and conferences are found to be joint employers then the NLRB would be able to exercise jurisdiction over the publics governed by the NCAA and conferences.

That would be great

It really would!

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