INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Michael Marino.
The Michael Marino Commentaries
In our series on Negotiations, we have discussed many of the basic “old school” principles that frame the basis for dispute resolution: good faith, respect, transparency, leverage, among others. We have also noted many times that aside from combat, litigation is the generally the worst way to resolve disputes. What has happened in college athletics? How did we reach the point where more than 25 college football players were paid over $2 million for dollars for their NIL—Name, Image, and Likeness, and yet cannot be required to perform on the field? What is NIL? Why are talented athletes transferring from school to school? What about school spirit and loyalty? What is the basis of the debate about athletes being “employees ” and why are colleges vigorously defending numerous lawsuits challenging employee status? How and why did the pendulum swing and provide leverage to athletes? As is often the case, “money changes everything”. The thrill of victory evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry, and athletes were left out. Now they want to play and participate in the Moneyball game.
In the 1890’s the Harvard- Yale football games put college athletics into the public eye. Adding “sport” to the college experience enhanced the development of “boys to men”. Amateurism in sport enhanced the skills of discipline and teamwork. Competition and the love of the game created excitement and provided alumni with a basis for ongoing pride and connection to their alma maters. By 1906 college sports had become so popular and essential to the college experience, the National Collegiate Athletic Association—the NCAA—was formed to set the rules of engagement to ensure amateurism prevailed. College athletics were intended to foster the educational mission of colleges and universities preparing men, and 75 years later, women, to become well rounded adults and engaged citizens. College sport fostered character and school spirit and created lifelong bonds among students and alumni. And now, the love the game is being overtaken by financial opportunity. Discipline, talent, and hard work are still prerequisites of success in college athletics, but school pride, dedication, and loyalty, has often taken a back seat to financial gain. The result threatens the heart of alumni connection. Beyond football and basketball, the generators of billions in revenue, the “Olympic” and non-revenue sports, from rowing to fencing to soccer, are threatened with budget cuts and elimination altogether. Title IX, ensuring women’s opportunities to participate in sport remain equal to men, is threatened with reduction and even elimination. The very essence of the augmentation to education through athletic competition is endangered.
This series will explore how the landscape changed, and what potential remedies could address a solution. Without a resolution, the financial requirements of paying athletes will overwhelm the system. Last year over $2 billion was paid for NIL rights. College athletic budgets created $3 billion in revenue and spent 3 plus billion! The school deficits are not sustainable. The transformation from informal off the books alumni payments to athletes to professional level compensation, is resulting in football and the major athletic conference’s dominating sport by paying exorbitant compensation for NIL, while vigorously maintaining the argument that athletes are not employees. So what are athletes being paid for? We will explore the efforts and proposed remedies, and why the potential resolution may lie in creating a structure through collective bargaining to frame the rules of engagement needed to regulate and save college sport? This debate frames our discussions, and whether a collective bargaining agreement provides a potential solution to keep the games in bounds and between the lines.
Michael Marino is a NYC-based management labor, employment and entertainment lawyer who for decades has represented corporations, executives, celebrities, sports figures, and influencers. A member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, he has tried federal court cases across the country and negotiated hundreds of collective bargaining and marketing agreements. Before entering private practice, he served proudly as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, and as Special Counsel to the Secretary of the Navy. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Syracuse University College of Law, and Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Learn more at https://www.seyfarth.com/people/michael-f-marino.html/.
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