Supreme Court nixes limits on student-athlete benefits

Current NCAA rules say colleges cannot offer athletes financial benefits beyond the cost of attending the school. But athletes argue the college athletics organization violates federal antitrust law designed to promote competition. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Monday that the NCAA cannot enforce its cap on student-athletes’ education-related benefits.

Will student-athletes get paid now? NCAA President Mark Emmert said the ruling did not erase the lines between college and professional sports. The case does not decide whether students can be paid salaries. Instead, the ruling will help determine whether schools decide to offer athletes tens of thousands of dollars in education benefits for things such as tutoring, study abroad programs, and graduate scholarships. The NCAA is also studying ways to allow student-athletes to benefit from the use of their names, images, and likenesses.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Kyle Ziemnick’s report on the debate over student-athletes and sponsorship deals.