By Mike Crooks ‘14

On March 26, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 13 director Peter Sung ruled that Northwestern football players had the right to unionize, finding that the players are employees of the university. The ruling comes in the midst of the holy grail of college sports, March Madness.

The ultimate effect of Sung’s ruling is currently unforeseeable, but it has the power to eliminate amateurism in college athletics and facilitate change in the college sports world by allowing players to negotiate and earn money. The decision is an important step towards justice for college athletes everywhere.

The NCAA makes hundreds of millions of dollars each year, getting approximately 95 percent of its revenue from March Madness. However, the players, who put in countless hours of work in order to provide entertaining competition, currently receive none of it.

By giving athletes the power to unionize, the NCAA will be forced to share its profits with the employees who generate them. Division 1 college athletes should be able to negotiate contracts and ultimately get paid like professional athletes. Yes, the “star” athletes will make considerably more money than the ones who ride the bench, but it works out because these are the athletes that are making the NCAA money. People may not like the idea of paying college athletes, but it is the only way to achieve fairness in college sports.