Employees or Amateurs?—How Johnson v. NCAA Could Change the Game of College Athletics Forever

Authored by: Barry Hall Billings

Abstract

Student athletes go to work every day and are expected to perform at the highest level. The job requires athletes to push their bodies to the limits, perform at an extraordinary level, and put their own personal interests to the side for the sake of their team or their university. However, there is no pay day or compensation. A number of student-athletes across America believe they are being robbed by the strict rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which prohibits compensating these athletes for the benefits they bring to their respective universities.

In Johnson v. NCAA, a group of athletes sued the NCAA and various universities, asking the court to deem their involvement in intercollegiate sports to be work, making them employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This Comment first surveys the history of the NCAA and student-athletes’ amateur status and lays out the recent legal challenges to the NCAA’s amateurism rules. Next, it examines the district and appellate court’s decisions in Johnson. Finally, the author offers a few thoughts on what is to come if the courts find that these athletes should be considered employees under the FLSA.