Name, image and likeness was introduced as an interim policy in 2021 following the court case NCAA v Alston allowing athletes to receive compensation for playing their respective sport. For the first time, college athletes could earn money through brand deals, social media promotions, autograph signings and other business opportunities.
But while NIL opened the door for athletes to develop their own brands and incomes, it did not give them a collective voice in decisions that shape their lives.
Universities and athletic departments still control practice schedules, travel demands, scholarship terms and the distribution of billions in television revenue. If NIL was step one in modernizing college athletics, the next step should be unionization.
Unionization would give athletes the ability to collectively bargain over issues that directly affect them, including health and safety protocols, time commitments, scholarship protections and long-term medical coverage. Right now, those policies are largely determined by schools and the National Collegiate Athletic Association without athlete input. A union would not eliminate college sports; it would simply create a structured process for negotiation, similar to what exists in professional leagues such as the NFLPA, NBPA and MLBPA.
The idea is not all theoretical. On Feb. 5, 2024, a regional director for the National Labor Relations Board in Boston ruled that the men’s basketball team at Dartmouth College could vote on union representation. Players on the team haven’t yet started a union, but the decision demonstrated it is legally viable in certain contexts and that athletes are already exploring collective action.
Opponents argue unionization could disrupt the traditional structure of college athletics. During a March 2024 congressional hearing, Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said, “Unionization will restrict student freedom and their ability to choose the right course for them.” His argument is a common one among NCAA officials that collective bargaining could interfere with athletes’ academic priorities and reduce the flexibility universities have in setting schedules.
However, unionization does not eliminate education as the central purpose of college athletics, nor does it prevent athletes from pursuing degrees. The only thing it would do is create a formal structure for athletes to collectively negotiate issues that affect their lives so their academic and athletic responsibilities can be balanced more fairly.
Ensuring athletes have a unified voice would not take away their freedom; it would strengthen their ability to advocate for conditions that allow them to succeed both in the classroom and in competition.
The National Labor Relations Act allows workers to opt out of a union if they choose. So even if a union exists, athletes would not have to pay dues as a condition of participation in their sport. Instead, it would give athletes the option to participate in collective bargaining while preserving individual choice.
Even if schools and the NCAA didn’t grant full unionization, they could still create structured athlete councils with real decision-making power, guarantee long term medical coverage for injuries and formalize athlete input on scheduling and scholarship policies. There are multiple ways to strengthen athlete representation.
Still, unionization remains the strongest and most direct path to ensuring athletes have a protected, enforceable voice. Collective bargaining creates accountability in a way advisory councils often cannot. At the same time, I recognize that forming unions in college athletics would be incredibly difficult with the current makeup of our government. Labor expansion faces political resistance, and federal agencies ultimately shape how far organizing efforts can go. Even so, difficulty should not have to stop the conversation.
There was a time when NIL was considered impossible. Look where we are now. If college sports continue to generate billions in revenue, athletes deserve a serious and sustained seat at the table.
Jack Davis (he/him) is a junior majoring in media with a sports concentration and pursuing a minor in folklore and ethnomusicology and a certificate in journalism.
