Taylor Branch on Paying College Athletes

(Ilya Somin)

Historian Taylor Branch has a fascinating Atlantic article on the history of regulations forbidding pay for college athletes. He also makes a strong case for abolishing those rules and describes various legal challenges to them. I don't agree with all of Branch's analysis. For example, I'm not as optimistic as he is that lawsuits will lead to the end of the NCAA cartel. The Supreme Court has long interpreted the antitrust laws to exempt college sports, and it is unlikely to change its mind — both because a multibillion dollar industry has relied on those decisions and because the Court generally does not like to change its statutory interpretation decisions.

But I do agree with Branch that the rules need to be changed. In any event, the article is well worth reading for anyone interested in the issue.

I myself made the case for allowing colleges to pay athletes here and here.