[thehef]

So many unknowns at this point... about something that is likely to happen in some form eventually. But what form? If we're talking about allowing student athletes to make enough money for basic living expenses & walking-around money, that's one thing. But allowing them to profit off of their own image, etc., is quite another. That turns a high schooler into a multi-millionaire in short order. And without regards to whether that's right or wrong, it would have ramifications. Wouldn't, for example, end-of-the-bench Duke hoopsters have a huge advantage over non-star-but-still-starting linemen and linebackers at, say Michigan? (Simply because there are only about 11 or 12 Duke basketball players any given year, whereas there are many more football players; and imagine the advantage those end-of-the-bench hoopsters have over the last 40 or so guys on Michigan's football team)...

Geography would play a role, too, and not only if some teams are part of a pay league and others aren't...

And let's say we're talking big money, rather than a small stipend-like, even distribution. If it's a zero-sum game (not saying it would be, but it could be), then that money that the Univ's - besides lining their trustees' coffers - are using to support other, lower-revenue-generating sports would end up in the pockets of the star basketball and football players, mostly male in basketball and exclusively male in football. For that reason alone, I'm guessing that we are years and years away from something that pays college athletes unless it is extremely limited in scope and dollar amount. Otherwise, lawyers will be making a ton during years and years of litigation...