The NCAA is angry at Johnny Manziel for supposedly selling his autograph for money. That’s against the NCAA rules. In fact, using the player’s image or likeness for profit is something the NCAA has said they would never to do expose their players.
Despite the NCAA claiming this, it’s clear that they do it anyway through their loopholes. No player names are used in any kind of merchandise that is sold, but it’s so quite obvious that it refers to a certain player.
So the NCAA has gotten heat over this and ESPN’s Jay Bilas decided to show that the NCAA is doing the opposite of what they’re professing.
Then this happened:
So Bilas found a loophole:
(Since then, those search terms associated with the players have been removed.)
As much as the NCAA claims that they aren’t profiting off their own players, it’s clear that the linking of the merchandise to the players is the way they are benefiting of these young kids who get no compensation.
Now, I know the argument that these student-athletes get a free ride. Well, not everyone gets a free ride. And keep in mind that they have to balance a tough workout schedule with practices and travel and be a student — that is if the school is focused on their education. These players are getting the universities millions of dollars and they don’t see one dime of it.
It’s a shame that the NCAA now has become this but it’s been the truth for so long. It just took a while before it really got some serious attention.