Former NBA player Derek Anderson (not the football player) sat down with HuffPost Live to discuss the future of player compensation for college athletes.
Anderson starred as a member of the 1996 University of Kentucky team which took the national championship. He, along with eight teammates that year, would go on to a decade-long career in the NBA, which included a stint as a bench player on the 2006 champion Miami Heat.
“I had a number one jersey sell ‘97, but I saw none of that money. And they say they paid for my tuition, well let me pay for my tuition and you give me the percent I made out of the jersey sales and see who’s happy. And I think that’s what Northwestern is doing... ’hey, help us graduate, help us get a job after sports,'” Anderson said.
In late March, football players at Northwestern University won a decision by the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago. The ruling recognizes those players as employees and as qualified for unionization.
Many consider this a big step towards ending modern college amateurism. Northwestern plans to appeal the decision.
In addition, sports labor attorney Jeffrey Kessler filed an antitrust suit against the NCAA and five major conferences, claiming that capped player compensation in the form of scholarships is a violation of antitrust laws.
