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28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

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ElvisLives:
Here is how I would fix the Amateur athletics crisis in the United States:
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The 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
Other than the exceptions listed hereafter, no person within these United States of America, including all of its territories, possessions, and foreign embassies (hereafter "United States") having not attained the natural age of 22 years, may receive any wage or other form of compensation in exchange or consideration for such person's participation in any form of individual or team athletic or sporting competition.
This law shall apply to all persons within these United States of America, including all of its territories, possessions, and foreign embassies (hereafter "United States"), be they citizens, non-citizen residents of these United States, or visitors to these United States.
EXCEPTIONS:
1) A person having not attained the natural age of 22 years may compensated for the cost of tuition, fees, books, housing, and incidentals commonly known and understood within these United States in the year 2021, and provided to any recipient of any form of scholarship by any institution of education, public or private, within these United States, unless such person has earned and received an undergraduate degree from any institution of higher education, domestic or foreign, such institution approved by the Congress of these United States to offer and issue such degrees.
2) A person having not attained the natural age of 22 years, being qualified and selected to participate in training, preparation, and participation in the Olympic Games or other international athletic or sporting competition by a governing body authorized by the Congress of these United States, may be be compensated for all direct costs of such training and preparation for, and participation in, such competition, and may receive a stipend for such training, preparation, and participation, as may be established by the Congress of these United States.
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Now, I just need a Congressman to introduce this Amendment, and get the states to ratify. What are the odds?

dammitbobby:
'...no person... may receive any wage or other form of compensation in exchange or consideration for such person's participation in any form of individual or team athletic or sporting competition'

That doesn't address NIL, since it's not (IMO) directly tied to their participation in a sport, as evidenced by the link showing the high school prep kid who's going to profit off NIL even before he gets to step foot on a college court.

And there's certainly an argument to be had that given that D1 college revenues are almost wholly derived from collegiate athletics, particularly football and basketball,  that the athletes actually working and competing deserve to have the tiniest of slivers of that ginormous pie. 

ElvisLives:

--- Quote from: dammitbobby on July 27, 2021, 03:40:24 PM ---'...no person... may receive any wage or other form of compensation in exchange or consideration for such person's participation in any form of individual or team athletic or sporting competition'

That doesn't address NIL, since it's not (IMO) directly tied to their participation in a sport, as evidenced by the link showing the high school prep kid who's going to profit off NIL even before he gets to step foot on a college court.
If he/she hasn’t participated in any sporting completion, how would he/she have any marketing value? I’m not targeting only college sports. I’m targeting anything. We need to let kids grow up and get an education before they get lost in the world of professional sports. 22 is plenty young to start a professional career. Let schools give scholarships. That is plenty of compensation for playing collegiate sports. We’re making millionaires out of kids that have no clue how to deal with it. Let ‘em get an education, so those that don’t make it in the pros can contribute to society afterward.

And there's certainly an argument to be had that given that D1 college revenues are almost wholly derived from collegiate athletics, particularly football and basketball,  that the athletes actually working and competing deserve to have the tiniest of slivers of that ginormous pie.

--- End quote ---

dammitbobby:
I don't disagree with you.

ncwingman:
I think you're targeting the wrong problem.

There are several issues at hand that have led to the culture we're currently in, and if you want to "fix" amateur athletics, you need to address these root causes.

1. It's not amateur if people are making money off of it.

The whole NIL issue now is derived from the fact that schools are making millions, if not billions, of dollars on the backs and hard work of the student athletes, while the students are being told to accept their "scholarship", and nothing else (as that would be a violation), and be happy -- you'll make your money later. If you want to make it truly amateur, you shouldn't be focusing on not letting students benefit from it, but you need to make sure the *schools* aren't making money off it it. Good luck with that one.

2. If there's money to be made, people will exploit and be exploited.

That's just human nature. Telling students to shut up and know their place is contributing to their exploitation, especially when it's done by people outside the system that either want to maintain the status quo or increase their bottom line. If you really want students to get an education before entering the world of professional sports, then nobody else should be able to make money off of them in the meantime. If you want to make it truly amateur, then ALL of the money goes away, including all of the other companies, media, etc.. Nike/Under Armour/Adidas can't sell shoes with collegiate tie ins and ESPN can't cover college sports, for instance.

3. Don't let the college degree become the new high school diploma.

Speaking as somebody who works in higher education, the recent push that everybody must go to college because you're not going to be successful or a contributing member of society without a college degree is toxic. While this problem is beyond just college athletics, it's highlighted by the example of people getting degrees in underwater basket weaving -- *a* degree is more important than what the degree is in. The current generation isn't going to college because of the interest in their studies, but rather because it's the next checkbox on their list. It's diluting the importance and significance of the college degree. You don't need a college degree to be a plumber, or be a chef, or hit a baseball -- and we shouldn't be insisting that you do.

The degree as the "back up plan" for when you don't make it in the pros is also a little weird if you think about it in other contexts. Doctors and lawyers make tons of money too, but a lot of students wash out in med school or law school and don't make it. Should they also get a second "back up" degree for when they don't make it big in their fields as well?

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