The answer is as easy as ABC. College sports need a CBA.
Coaches and athletic directors continue to whine about the lack of regulation and the uneven playing field. This is a direct reflection of the disastrous implementation of official compensation in college football. Revenue sharing, NIL and the transfer portal remain ripe for manipulation, if not outright cheating.
All of the under-the-table deals are out in the open, generally speaking, and folks are upset. The House settlement was a step in the right direction, but only if power conference schools want it to work.
They don’t. They want their collectives to continue operating without guardrails, paying athletes with money that doesn’t count against the $20.5 million cap on university revenue sharing.
Watching a Texas Tech billionaire reshape the Big 12, CU coach Deion Sanders made a candid suggestion last week.
“I wish there was a cap,” Sanders said. “Like, the top-of-the-line player makes this, and if you’re not that type of guy, you know you’re not going to make that. That’s what the NFL does.”
He is not wrong. But it stops short. There is an obvious solution, even though it would be tricky and time-consuming. The only way to regulate this mess is to recognize athletes as employees and allow them to unionize. At that point, they could negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, same as exists in professional sports. Stop with the fantasy that college is about getting a degree. It has become a side benefit.
As a possible concession, make the union available to athletes in revenue-generating sports. This isn’t perfect. But what is currently happening isn’t either.
CBAs are designed to benefit both sides, incentivizing compromise. It would clear the pathway to implement a salary cap and rules that refrain union members from accepting outside money from illegitimate businesses to help enforce the Wild West that is NIL.
Stricter regulation is necessary. But my fear is that power conferences, namely the SEC and Big Ten, won’t care. The SEC is already calling for “a much softer cap” if booster collectives reside in the category as other businesses, per USA Today. No one will be surprised if the Power Four leave the NCAA.
Football is showing that a Hail Mary is needed with a CBA.
Holding Court: In a recent ESPN poll of coaches, scouts and executives, Courtland Sutton ranked 25th among receivers. It prompts the uneasy question: While he has earned a contract extension, will the Broncos give him one? The way Sean Payton has talked up his young receivers makes me wonder.
Big Dumper Thumper: Sorry, Yankees fans. Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, aka the Big Dumper, cannot be dismissed. Everyone knows how good Aaron Judge is. But Raleigh plays a premium defensive position, and Judge plays half his games in a field the size of Williamsport. Let it play out. If the Mariners make the playoffs, Cal for MVP is not a crazy idea.
WNBA missteps: The WNBA continues to struggle as it evolves. The league couldn’t figure out how to ride the wave of Caitlin Clark’s popularity. And now, the horrible officiating is causing tension and arguably injuries. If the league is serious about meeting the moment, it must demand excellence across the board, including from refs.
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