[Oliviaforever]

“The students will have to take loans to pay income taxes on their scholarships.”

I’m sure the student athletes at Northwestern understand the fact that they will have to pay taxes on earnings and they understand that paying taxes on some earnings in better than not having any earnings to pay taxes on.

[gusty]

If the athletes at Northwestern understand the fact that they will have to pay taxes on what they earn, then one can only conclude that they are too stupid to attend college. Why would someone in their right mind engage in an activity which will cost them more in taxes over those four years than the cash they will earn, when including the scholarship value as part of the compensation they earn.

As for compensation for merchandising using their image, first off, they probably as adults over 18 signed away their rights. O’Bannon of UCLA admits he did, but argues it should be invalid because he did not read the document. The solution would be for the companies who use their images to put money in escrow and then compensate the athlete after he graduates or leaves the ranks of college athletes. Once he receives the money, he becomes ineligible to play that sport in college.