– Edward R. Murrow and The News – August 31, 1951 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
News for this last day of August in 1951 was about the unsettled nature of things. The war in Korea was at the Charge and Countercharge stage – with claims of violations to the neutral zone around…
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Vikings have released two players; Including Kain Colter
Today the Minnesota Vikings released both Kain Colter and Jesse Somsel from their roster. They currently sit at 88 players on their active roster. They could be signing two guys from their mini camp this past weekend.
@VikingUpdate: #Vikings announce the release of WR Kain Colter and G Jesse Somsel. They had probably 40-50 guys on tryout at rookie minicamp, maybe sign 2.
Colter thinks football players at Northwestern should be compensated
Last week the Northwestern University football players were deemed employees by the National Labor Relations Board’s Chicago office. This means that the players would be able to form a union.
The leader of this union movement is Kain Colter who was a quarterback for the Wildcats from 2010-2013. Colter has been pushing for the players of the university to be recognized as employees for a few years now and he is thrilled with the results so far.
It’s still a long process to know for sure if the football players will be compensated by the university. Colter stated that playing football is a job and regardless of it happening in college the players should be paid. The National College Players Association wants the players to receive “cost of attendance” stipends and they should be compensated for commercial sponsorships.
Many people think that players should get money for having their likeness portrayed in college football video games. The big thing with that is that the players on each team are identified by their jersey number and not by their name. The other are jersey sales. One of the biggest selling jerseys for the Pitt Panthers in 2007 and 2008 was the #25 jersey. Everyone in the city knew that was Lesean “Shady” McCoy’s number. Do you think if he was making any money off of those sales? Of course he wasn’t.
Colter and other players say this not all about the money, that they also want their voices to be heard. I agree with that, but money is more of an important facet than he is making it seem. They want to make sure they have the necessary health insurance in case injuries happen on the football field. They want to have extra spending money because college life is normally rough on the athletes. The biggest thing in their eyes though is that if they rake in so much money for the university, why shouldn’t they be rewarded too?
The answer is pretty damn simple. Those players are STUDENT-athletes. People attend colleges to be students first and foremost. Playing a college sport is not a requirement. I guarantee you that if you asked all of the college athletes in the world who play football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, baseball and other sports that they participate in those sports because it’s fun being a part of a team. Being paid is not on their minds because they are in college, they are not professionals yet.
Over 90% of all student-athletes end up not being professionals in the sport they played in college. It’s been like this for so long in college athletics. Some athletes feel like school is tougher when you’re balancing homework and sports. They feel they should be rewarded for doing that. Most in fact are rewarded with a sports scholarship. If they feel bogged down then they need to just dedicate themselves to one or the other. I understand if you want to be good at your sport you have long practices and take time to study playbooks, but there has to be that time for schoolwork too.
It’s absolutely ridiculous to think that athletes in college should be compensated. If it happens then it won’t just stop with all the teams in football. It will make its way to basketball, baseball, swimming, hockey etc. Another reason why shouldn’t happen is the fact that if players can unionize, then they can possibly go on strike. So basically if that happens college football teams will refuse to play and believe me, universities won’t stand for that one bit.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided in favor of the the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA). Meaning, Northwestern football players are and can be seen as employees rather than “student-athletes,” and they can form a union.
There is no doubt that Northwestern will appeal the NLRB’s decision, and even smaller doubt that this decision will make the argument of paying college…
Dear Mr. Colter and anyone else this might apply to,
Yesterday you found success in being declared employees of Northwestern rather than just simply a student, and as such, now have the right to unionize. Now, I know you have been on record stating that for you personally, this is not an attempt towards more compensation, and for that I say good on you, if you really mean it. But I hope you realize that you have opened Pandora's box, and you have no control over what happens after you. Please don't misunderstand me, I think the requests you've laid forth are reasonable, and I also think that exploitation of college athletes is most definitely a reality and that collegiate athletics, in general, have strayed very far from the ideals they were created with, and are in a rough place. Because of greed. With that in mind, I have one genuine, key question towards this movement:
Where does it stop?
You have just tapped the wheel into motion and we are now heading down an uncharted slope. Like I said, if these accusations don't apply to you personally then I am not placing them on you, but I think we can be straightforward and admit that they exist in the hearts of tons of college athletes. But that concerns me. Because the same way that Martin Luther King Jr. said that hate cannot drive out hate, don't you think the same is true that greed can not drive out greed? Listen, I agree that things need to change. But we got to where we are today because of greed - greed of the schools, greed of the athletic departments, greed of the conferences, greed of the television networks. But you are going to ruin the sport you love if you counter that greed with your own. Here's what I mean:
As a football player at Northwestern, you are on full ride scholarship which translates out to roughly $65,000 a year. With nothing else, being a student-athlete, you are already receiving compensation that puts you in the top 3% in the entire country. As a full-time working adult, I don't make half that much. Now please, if you are reading, this is the part I want you to pay attention to.
In addition to that, you are likely also eligible for a Pell Grant, another $5,500 per year. In addition to that, if you receive a Pell Grant, you are also eligible for a $500 clothing allowance per year. In addition to that, your athletic department has a Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund, for any non-scholarship expense that you can't pay for, such as gas in your car, a plane ticket home, etc. In addition to that, you also have access to a Special Assistance fund, which requests additional financial aid for similar special financial needs that you might have (since you do not have the available time to have a job outside of football). In addition to that, you likely live off-campus, right? Your scholarship gives you $13,862 towards room and board - but if you get an apartment with your teammates and pay $400 a rent in month, that is only $4,800 for the year. That leaves you with a $9,000 difference left in cash for you to use as you choose.
So, by my admittedly non-scientific math, being a football player at Northwestern earns you roughly $80,000 per year in compensation, untaxed. You receive over $10,000 in extra income that does not go towards any necessity living costs, and does not include anything you might get from the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund or the Special Assistance Fund.
Still though, that's not the whole picture, is it? That does not take into account your access to tutors, personal trainers, nutritionists, athletic facilities, professional training, dozens of pairs of shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, shoes, backpacks, etc. It also doesn't take into account the trips that you get to take across the country all-expenses paid, the bowl game prize packages, the iPad in your locker, the free tickets for family members. It also doesn't take into account the non-quantifiable perks of being an athlete - the notoriety, the never having to pay for a beer wherever you go, the attention and praise, those sorts of things.
Can we just call a spade a spade here?
Within the college landscape, Mr. Colter, you are the most privileged, fortunate and benefited demographic that exists in the entire world. No other student demographic comes even close to the same amount of fortune that you possess. So again, my question, when does it stop?
For you it might stop at fair medical compensation and the right to have a voice in certain areas of your life as a student-athlete. I am okay with that by all means. But for who comes after you, that might be enough and it might stop at a percentage of jersey sales. For the players after them, that won't be enough and it will only stop at being compensated for any special attention they get on ESPN, and so on and so on and so on. The rich get richer. Literally this morning, one day after your victory, somebody on ESPN radio mentioned the idea of commercial sponsorship. Less than 24 hours in and we are already going down this road.
Have I mentioned that I am worried? I am worried for the walk-ons and the non-contributors who might get left in the dust, since the NLRB ruled in your favor primarily because of what you are producing for the university, so how long until the people that aren't producing get axed? If the basis of your right to unionize are founded in the revenue you are producing, then you are leaving your fellow student athletes behind and only looking out for yourself. I'm worried for the tennis players, that put in just as much work as you do, but don't happen to make the university millions. I'm worred for the Division II schools that don't have the funds and those athletes that don't stand a chance. I am worried.... I'm worried that you've taken the first step in creating a monster that will finish devouring what is left of something that I, you, and millions of other people love.
So I write all of this to say, I think this is the wrong approach. I really, sincerely, genuinely and passionately believe that this is not the solution. Your sport is being corrupted by greed, but that is hardly unique to NCAA football. This is an epidemic of our entire country - do not think you are the only ones that are not being fairly compensated compared to what the people above you are earning from your work; that is happening everywhere as the CEO's continue to go higher while the middle class continues to fall. Yes, the gap is unfair. But the solution is not for you to take and take and take more when you are already given so much and your fellow student-athletes, or your fellow students, don't even compare. The solution is to take the money away from who you are trying to chase. The solution is no more multi-million dollar coaching salaries and billion dollar TV contracts and several-hundred dollar tickets.
I'm writing this to plead with you to yes, take a stand against this, but take a stand in a way that rights the ship. Take a stand against being exploited but take it by locking arms with your school and your coaches in unison, not by undermining them. Don't take a stand in a way that only says, "Well since it's broken, I might as well get mine." This is so much bigger than you, and if things keep going in this direction, you, or who you represent, will end up losing. You will either lose by having your strongarm tactic reciprocated and your scholarship and perks taxed and revoked, or you will lose by dealing the final blow to a cracking dam, taking your alma mater and your future teammates down in the flood.
