And so it begins ... college football unions

[PapaG]

Does this mean that each player becomes a 1099 contractor?

The article said that they were found to be employees.

There are many different types of employees. Temps/contractors/full-time/part-time are just a few.

These 'employees' are already being compensated in a tax-free manner. I say start taxing that compensation, and good luck for the football players at an also-ran school like Northwestern negotiating a contract that is better than a tax-free education with zero loans.

[SonomaCat]

Does this mean that each player becomes a 1099 contractor?

The article said that they were found to be employees.

There are many different types of employees. Temps/contractors/full-time/part-time are just a few.

These 'employees' are already being compensated in a tax-free manner. I say start taxing that compensation, and good luck for the football players at an also-ran school like Northwestern negotiating a contract that is better than a tax-free education with zero loans.

As I mentioned, scholarships are already specifically exempt from taxation in most cases, regardless of whether you are working for a university as an athlete or working for IBM as an engineer. So I'm not sure why there would be any reason to tax their compensation any differently than anyone else's. If tuition wasn't specifically tax-exempt income, they already would be getting taxed regardless of this decision or regardless if they wanted a union (as the IRS would look at it as taxable income by default, absent provisions specifically excluding it from taxable income).

Legally speaking, a contractor is, by definition, not an employee. That's the only reason I noted the use of the term "employee" in my previous post.

[rook]

So how would they bargain and what would they bargain for exactly? I am having fun with the possibilities/
- If they are already "paid" a full ride what does an increase in pay consist of?
- Maximum laps per practice?
- No more morning practices... standard work hours are 8-5...
- Minimum accommodation requirements for road trips?
- How about Free agency after sophomore year? I can get a pay raise if I transfer to Harvard yo!
- are we going to have franchise tags?
- sorry coach, I talked to my steward and that route over the middle exposes me to too much risk to injury.. I'll take the curl...
- will striking players get to tailgate?
- will scabs be NAIA guys who get the call up?