The Chicago Regional office of the National Labor Relations Board has issued an historic ruling. The NLRB Ruling on a petition by Northwestern University football players to be allowed to form a union has been granted, and the face of NCAA sports may never be the same.
The Board ruled that the players in receiving scholarships to play football meet the federal standard of employees under the law and thus are eligible to form a union. The initial petition was filed by the National College Players Association on behalf of former Wildcats quarterback Kain Colter and the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA). The petition also had the backing of the United Steelworkers Union.
“Players receiving scholarships to perform football-related services for the Employer under a contract for hire in return for compensation are subject to the Employer’s control and are therefore employees,” an excerpt of the NLRB ruling reads.
While the CAPA currently states that its goals are to reduce concussions and increase safety, as well as have scholarships cover the full cost of attending university instead of just tuition, the deal opens up a can of worms. It could lead to NCAA athletes asking for endorsement money for jersey and sales, video game liscensing, and tv rights deals that the universities currently take 100% of. It could also lead to them asking to be paid for sports they play.
One thing to keep in mind though is that this ruling only covers private institutions. Public universities are run by individual states, and there will likely be labor relations board cases on a case-by-case basis.
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