Should college athletes be employees of their universities?

Forget salaries for a second. The real prize in the Dartmouth case is collective bargaining. A players' union could negotiate caps on practice hours, guaranteed multi-year scholarships, real health insurance, and a share of media revenue, all at the bargaining table instead of begging the NCAA. That's how every other American industry handles the power imbalance between labor and management. The NLRB ruling opened that door. Coaches have agents negotiating their contracts. Athletic directors have lawyers. Players have compliance officers telling them what they can't do. A union fixes the asymmetry, and employment status is the key that unlocks it.