Supreme Court Upholds Some Education Benefits for NCAA Athletes

On June 21, 2021 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, holding that colleges may pay some education-related benefits to college athletes, a practice that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has long banned. Under the NCAA rules, college athletes are limited to receiving only scholarships, books, room and board, and other costs of attending college. The ruling comes while Congress contemplates a federal law on the issue, while a NCAA panel is scheduled to meet to discuss how student athletes may profit, and weeks before state laws take effect which allow athletes to make endorsements and monetize their social media in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. See ABA Journal, New York Times.