Fair Play? College Athletes Think Not

Feb. 12, 2010 — -- The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a money machine.

The group has a $6 billion, 11-year deal that gives CBS broadcast, Internet and merchandising rights. Kentucky's John Calipari, the highest-paid coach in college basketball, has a $31.65 million, eight-year deal that includes perks such as two automobiles, a country club membership and a $3 million golden parachute if he is fired.

College coaches are often among the highest-paid school employees. In the six marquee conferences, coach salaries average $1.2 million. Most schools have lucrative television and marketing agreements with networks and shoe and apparel companies.

Although a student cannot use his or her own name, photograph, appearance or athletic reputation for gain, the nonprofit NCAA and colleges across the country continue to earn money by marketing the likenesses, player numbers and videos of their "student-athletes" long after they have left school.

A class-action lawsuit led by former UCLA player of the year Ed O'Bannon seeks to change that. O'Bannon, who also led UCLA to a national championship in 1995, seeks monetary damages for the NCAA's use of former athletes' identities in the sale of DVDs, EA Sports video games and ESPN Classic reruns.

A district judge denied the NCAA's motion this week to dismiss the lawsuit, opening the door for the first peek ever into the business practices of the country's most powerful collegiate sports entity.

Schools and the NCAA argue that the students' focus is on education and that they leave with a degree that allows them to be productive citizens and earn a living. But only about 69 percent of players in the two big sports -- basketball and football -- graduate. African-Americans, who make up 87 percent and 67 percent of the NBA and NFL, respectively, graduate at rate of about 55 percent. Further, Sports Illustrated reported that 78 percent of NFL players are bankrupt or financially strapped after two years of retirement and 60 percent of NBA players are broke within five years of retirement.