NCAA/EA naming rights issue will be the defining sports issue of our generation. - USF11's Blog

USF11's Blog

NCAA/EA naming rights issue will be the defining sports issue of our generation.

Posted on July 22, 2009 at 10:24 PM.

Stuck in traffic, 20 minutes late for work, something dawned on me today. The NCAA/EA naming rights issue could be the biggest game changer in sports we will see in our lifetime.

Everyone talks about how a ruling in this case, could create a "money pool" to which the atheletes could draw on upon graduation. Everything from jersey sales such as #15 jerseys at Florida or % of sales from NCAA licensed video games could be used.

BUT, heres the next step if im a lawyer, and everyone is missing it.

Isn't ESPN selling commerical ad space for games, pregame shows, hype shows, the next obvious target. I mean ESPN and Fox sports are just as guilty making money off the college athlete as EA. Then the next step is the TV contract money itself which currently goes to the conferences, players could claim they should be getting a slice.

And once the snowball is pushed down the mountain, forget about it. There will be no stopping the avalanche of lawsuits by college athletes. College athletics could become something entirely different. Bigger schools with bigger contracts would entice all the good players.

Just to be clear I am not talking about whats right and what wrong, just what the end ramifications could be.