College Athletes Need Rights and Protections
Let’s be honest: there’s nothing “amateur” about college athletics these days.
Things have changed a lot since I played baseball for Michigan State University in the early 80s. Back then, most revenue came from ticket sales and small corporate sponsorships. Football coaches weren’t earning more than university presidents. College sports were amateur endeavors with limited commercial value.
Today, college athletics are truly an enormous business. Last fiscal year, the NCAA reported an all-time record revenue of $1.38 billion. Television contracts generate billions every year. Universities are building palatial athletic facilities that rival those of professional organizations and mimic the grandeur of venues for the Olympic games. Coaches and administrators are being paid seven and even eight figure salaries.
This empire was built on the backs of student-athletes, who on top of their studies often dedicate more than 40 hours a week to their sport while facing restrictions on their ability to earn compensation under the NCAA’s outdated Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policies.
At Charitable Gift America, we've written more than 1,000 NIL contracts for student-athletes across the country. Through this direct experience, we've seen firsthand how the current system fails to adequately protect or empower the very people who create its value. That’s why, as a former student-athlete, I’m proud to support two bills recently introduced in the Michigan Legislature by State Representatives Joe Tate and Carrie Rheingans that will provide structure to the athlete-administrator relationship. In addition to providing protections for the student-athletes, combined they will reduce the number of transfers between schools which will help students academically.
HB 4725 recognizes that student-athletes are employees, just like any other employee. Universities control their schedules, require specific training, and profit from their performance. This bill simply gives athletes the same collective bargaining rights that other employees have.
While the NCAA's 2021 NIL policy changes were a step forward, they maintained enough restrictions and ambiguity to continue limiting athlete opportunities. HB 4643 would eliminate unnecessary interference from the NCAA, universities, and other third parties, ensuring athletes can fully capitalize on their personal brands. There is no other student, faculty or staff member on campus that has a cap on their earning potential, only student-athletes.
These bills should appeal to lawmakers across the political spectrum. For those who support workers' rights and collective bargaining, they extend fundamental labor protections to a group that has been excluded for too long. For those who champion free markets and oppose regulatory overreach, they eliminate artificial NCAA restrictions and let market forces, not bureaucratic interference, determine compensation and opportunities.
Every year, millions of college sports fans—Spartans, Wolverines, Grizzlies, Warriors, Chips, and everyone in-between—enjoy cheering on our teams. Every year, we ask the young people on these teams to sacrifice their bodies, time, and earning potential to help their schools generate athletic and financial victories. Meanwhile, everyone else involved—coaches, administrators, broadcasters, sponsors—have been free to pursue maximum compensation.
Student-athletes deserve the same rights and opportunities available to every other student and every other employee. They deserve fair compensation for the value they create. They deserve the ability to organize and advocate for their interests collectively.
The legislature should pass these bills swiftly. Our student-athletes have waited long enough for the recognition and protection they deserve.
Dr. Thomas Dieters is President of Thomas Mitchell & Associates and volunteer board president of Charitable Gift America.
This guest column was also published online in The Detroit News on August 25, 2025.
