College athletes worth six figures, live below federal poverty line
Perhaps the upcoming football game between Ohio State and Miami is the most fitting backdrop to the results of a National College Players Association (NCPA) and Drexel University Department of Sport Management joint study, which blames colleges sports scandals on a black market created by unethical and unpractical NCAA restrictions on college athletes. Examining football and basketball teams from Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) colleges, the study calculates athletes' out-of-pocket educational related expenses associated with a "full" scholarship, compares the room and board portion of players' scholarships to the federal poverty line and coaches' and athletic administrators' salaries, and uses NFL and NBA collective bargaining agreements to estimate the fair market value of FBS football and basketball players.
