The men’s NCAA tournament got started yesterday and wow is it great to see the stands full again this year.

On Wednesday, I wrote about the business of March Madness and received a bunch of questions that fit in to one of two categories:

1. What about the women’s college basketball March Madness tourney?

2. Should college athletes be paid? And if so, how?

Next week, I’ll be releasing a report on question 1.

But today, I want to touch on question 2 and why I believe the model of paying college athletes is already here.

Colleges Paying Their Athletes

This graph is from a recent study by Marist Poll and the results show that younger Americans believe colleges should pay their athletes.

The responses varied widely by age, race, ethnicity and gender — which is a reflection of the debate about amateurism and the wide-ranging definitions of what it means to be a college athlete.

• Age: 70% of 18-to-29-year-olds are in favor, but that number drops dramatically the older respondents get, with just 29% of the 60+ demo in favor.

• Race/ethnicity: 69% of both Black and Latino respondents are in favor, compared to 34% of white respondents.

• Gender: 54% of men are in favor, compared to 39% of women.

The Bigger Picture

Now that college athletes can earn money off their name, image and likeness (NIL), it's opened up the conversation about a possible next step — paying some of them directly.

• An advocacy group filed a labor complaint last month asserting that FBS football players, plus DI men's and women's basketball players, should be viewed as employees.

I think we can all feel the shift taking place right under our feet.

March Madness Payments

It's not the NCAA that will be paying athletes during the NCAA tournament — instead for the first time in the history of March Madness, players can sign endorsement deals that allow them to capitalize off their popularity through NIL.

Keep in mind, the NCAA already funnels roughly $600M of profits back to colleges and universities.

This makes you think…

If victories earned by athletes directly result in money for their schools — why don’t they get a cut?

The Answer: Title IX and anti-trust laws.

While paying college athletes, specifically men’s football and basketball make sense, it’s not realistic for all the other non-revenue generating sports.

NIL Is The Best Option

It’s not that easy to make paying college athletes a reality.

I won’t go in-depth in this article as to why that is, but here are a few reasons:

• Legislation

• Taxes

• Amateur Sports System

• Determining Fair Value

• Non-Revenue vs. Revenue Sports

• Scholarships

NIL offers college athletes the best alternative and lets the market determine their fair value.

Which is why this chart makes sense:

The same athletes who would get paid the most as a school employee — are benefitting the most from NIL (without all the red-tape).

Nothing is holding you back from making millions or none at all.

NIL will develop into a multi-billion dollar industry over the next few years as the market and brand strategies shape themselves.

One thing we have seen — is that social media is key for college athletes:

While many frown at the fact NIL collectives are promising recruits millions upon attending their university - that’s still a better method than paying them as employees through the school.

My only concern, is that some athletes might be taken advantage of just like we see in the music and entertainment industry.

Athletes need a trusted circle around them, especially as they ink their signature on anything related to NIL - millions of dollars might be on the line.

My final conclusion:

1. Paying college athletes as employees is a bad idea

2. Paying college athletes through NIL is the best option

Time will reveal all. Exciting times ahead!

I truly appreciate you taking time out of your day to read The Petcash Post.

The community is growing at a fast pace and tons of exciting developments that will improve your experience are on the way.

Have a nice weekend — I’ll be watching hoops 90% of the time.

See you on Sunday for the weekly roundup.

Peace,

-AP