O'Bannon wins, but NCAA may not suffer that much

[Baron Scicluna]

... they are supposed to be nonprofit. So they spend money like a drunken sailor to show they aren't making a profit.

Spending such that costs are in excess of revenues is not what makes an organization non-profit.

An organization can claim that their purpose is not to make a profit because they have a different purpose, such as charitable giving, and yet still make a profit. For athletic departments, their claim, which the NCAA uses to try not to pay the athletes, is that they are non-profit because their purpose is to provide a fun activity to enhance the college experience. What they claim, and what actually happens, is a different matter. They make money, and yet claim non-profit status.

Strangely enough, so does the NFL. They technically are a non-profit, which we all know is BS. Yet, unlike the colleges, they don't have a need to justify their spending because the athletes profit as well.

The NFL is an it, not a they, which is a non-trivial piece of information. Check it out and see where it takes you.

Are you meaning the league office and not the teams?

 

[doctorquant]

Check it out and see where it takes you.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

It's summertime. I'm not doing homework.

 

[Morris816]

I read what Dan Wetzel wrote at Yahoo and he was right to say that this is not a knockout blow, but still a blow, and I personally suspect this has only just begun.

Really, though, anyone who expected the O'Bannon lawsuit to lead to the immediate demise of amateurism was expecting too much. Progress is made in small steps, not gigantic leaps. But I expect the O'Bannon ruling to be the first ruling that starts unraveling the amateurism thread and the NCAA either needs to start thinking about to evolve, or watch it all fall apart and another organization comes in to take its place.

As for the non-profit stuff, the government was the one who granted the NCAA that status, just as it did with the NFL. So blame those in the government who gave them that status and let them keep the status because they'll get free tickets and campaign contributions for doing so.

But back to the O'Bannon lawsuit: I suspect this is only the beginning.

 

[JC]

Middle aged white men weep.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I've never thought the problem with the NCAA is how much money they bring in. If people are willing to pay whatever then fine. The problem has been on what the NCAA spends the money the bring in on. New basketball courts every year for the Final Four (mens and women), limitless recruiting budgets, cross-country and international trips, and I'm not even talking about the money sports of football and basketball, but non-revenue sports. It's like they are going out of their way to spend money.

The NCAA doesn't pay for those courts. The host sites pay to rent the courts for the first two weekends and I believe the FF host pays for the FF court or the manufacturer provides it then sells it afterwards.

Recruiting budgets aren't "limitless" either.