Over the past week, the University of Tennessee and its starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, staged a very public and very destructive contract negotiation that ended in Iamaleava’s departure from the program. In 2023, Iamaleava made national news by signing a reported $8 million contract with the Vols before he even graduated high school. While multimillion dollar NIL deals have become commonplace in college football and basketball recently, his deal was unprecedented at the time.
Apparently, Iamaleava and his family felt that, after his first season as a starter wherein he finished 8th in the SEC in passing yards, the contract he signed just two years prior did not provide adequate compensation. There were reports he was asking for $4 million. Tennessee clearly couldn’t justify paying him more based on his performance, and because of the barrage of anti-trust lawsuits lost by the NCAA and the conferences over the last few years, the school had no ability to enforce the contract that was in place.
So, the Vols are now without their starting quarterback, and Iamaleava will enter the transfer portal to test his market value. It remains to be seen whether either of the parties will be better off in the end, but this is not just a problem at Rocky Top, it is the latest example of the rapid destruction of college sports in America.
Last week, commissioners from the Southeast Conference, the Big 10, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12 as well as coaches and agents descended on Capitol Hill to lobby for differing versions of legislation, ostensibly to bring an end to the chaos that threatens to kill the goose that laid the golden egg of college football. Some are undoubtedly well-intentioned, but many came armed with their own selfish agendas.
There are many who stand to profit handsomely if the only two revenue-producing college sports, football and men’s basketball, become professional sports leagues – more professional than they are already. The highest-profile players will get huge deals, the agents will get their cut, the coaches’ contracts will continue to balloon, and the conference commissioners will continue to expand their monopolistic empires and their own compensation – at least in the short term. A cynic might assert that, despite showing up in D.C., some greedy individuals don’t want any reform because they can make more money if the players become unionized employees of the universities and the system becomes governed by a collective bargaining agreement.
This outcome will inevitably manifest if Congress passes no legislation but also will happen if Congress passes legislation that is poorly constructed, too narrow, or does not substantially change the current system.
Lost in all of this are the 500,000+ student athletes who are not receiving multi-million dollar deals and have no voice at the table. They are our female athletes, our Olympic sport athletes, and our colleges and communities that are not fortunate enough to afford the high price to compete. If we completely professionalize college sports, further extract and further concentrate the excess revenue provided by football and men’s basketball, college athletics will disappear for the majority of the Americans who have enjoyed and benefited from it for generations.
How do we stop the bleeding, and how do we preserve this 120-year-old sports infrastructure that is woven into the the fabric of Americana, fostering a culture of meritocracy and competition, and providing educational opportunity, social mobility, the ascendance of women’s sports, and the high-quality development of our Olympic competitors? It is no accident that the U.S. has an unparalleled Olympic program, and that our women dominate athletics globally.
How do we protect this system, that is a critical social, cultural, and economic hub for hundreds of communities across the nation, from greed, shortsightedness, and tribalism, while addressing the clear economic unfairness that persisted under the watch of the NCAA for decades and precipitated the current state of chaos and disorder?
The solution starts with the very obvious need to quickly apply a tourniquet that will establish authority for rules to be implemented, and will allow for the enforcement of contracts – this probably comes in the form of an anti-trust shield. Next, there must be a single set of rules and laws to govern college sports across the country – not a patchwork of 34 different state laws, as we have today.
But if we want to preserve the institution and all of its benefits for the long run, we must go further, look deeper into the rotten core of the system and address more than just the headline-grabbing issues that emerge from NIL and the Transfer Portal. Without comprehensive reform in the governance of college sports, and without regulation and enforcement measures to ensure competitive and economic parity, the anti-trust protection and federal preemption of state laws being discussed in Congress will only act to facilitate a less chaotic descent into professionalization.
Iamaleava did not go to practice on Friday, and it’s probably safe to assume that he also didn’t go to class. We need reform to reaffirm that student athletes must remain student athletes, and not become employees of the universities. Establishing this non-employee status will help to limit the cost burden of sponsoring an intercollegiate sport, and ensure that benefits like a scholarship are not taxable as income. Additionally, the proper application of Title IX with respect to the payment of student athletes must be made clear in order to prevent another wave of disruptive litigation.
Furthermore, to permanently sustain the economic model, we must re-imagine the organization and governance of college sports altogether. The professional sports leagues (especially the NFL) have found great success in building the brands of ALL of its franchises – not just those in the big markets. This has expanded the league’s economic pie, created greater parity, and has massively increased viewership. College sports do not currently have the right to take the same approach, as they do not have protection under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, as do the professional leagues.
Through inclusion in the Sports Broadcasting Act, colleges would gain the right to pool and jointly market their media rights, and install a media revenue distribution system that would significantly increase total revenue and would promote parity. The big and storied programs will continue to retain an advantage because of their massive ticket sales, donor support, and ability to monetize licensing and merchandise, but the smaller schools will at least be able to maintain solvent athletic departments and support non-revenue sports.
Finally, there must be some geographic sense made of conference alignment. Because the conferences must compete with each other for media deals, they are incentivized to organize into leagues that span multiple time zones, and cover the full width of the continent. This has resulted in the loss of traditional rivalries and has ballooned travel expenses and time away from the classroom, especially for the non-revenue sports. It also diminishes fan engagement and excludes those who cannot afford cross-country travel for weekend games. I expect that we will see many more Nico Iamaleava situations before we see a comprehensive fix for the brokenness that created his situation. My only hope is that leadership can emerge and consensus can be found in Washington before it’s too late. There are solutions, and the problems can be solved in a bipartisan manner. It is only a matter of will, engagement, and attention from well-intentioned individuals who wish to perpetuate the legacy and impact of the great American institution of Intercollegiate Athletics for all of its participants – not just for a privileged few.
Cody Campbell is a former football player for Texas Tech and the Indianapolis Colts. He is a distinguished fellow at the America First Policy Institute, a board member of Texas Public Policy Foundation, and is a member of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System.
