Should college athletes be employees of their universities?

Minor-league baseball players are employees. Under the 2023 collective bargaining agreement their minimum salaries run from about $19,800 at the lowest levels to $35,800 at Triple-A, and they unionized, which they did successfully. Now compare: a Power 4 football program can clear $100 million in revenue in a year, built almost entirely on unpaid labor. The MiLB comparison destroys every defense of the current model. We already decided that young athletes developing toward a pro career deserve wages, benefits, and a union. College athletes generate far more money and face far more physical risk than a Single-A infielder. The only difference is that the NCAA spent 70 years insisting its workers were students first. The market spoke. Listen to it.