On March 26, a group of Northwestern football players won their case with the National Labor Relations Board, which means that the student athletes have won the right to unionize. The NLRB issued a statement saying that the players are considered employees of the university.
This is just the first step in allowing college athletes to get paid.
According to USnews, the NCAA is approximately a $6 billion dollar business, and this is excluding revenue raised by TV ads for college football games. The players receive none of this money.
Although the majority of D1 athletes are compensated through scholarships, this money is not commensurate with the profits made by the NCAA from ticket sales, advertisements, and apparel sold.
However, student athletes already have enough privileges. They are making a choice to play a sport while also getting a free education. Their time at college is a tryout for prospective employers.
Student athletes should not get paid, but they do need to be rewarded for the money they generate for the NCAA. They should be allowed to accept endorsements, benefits from boosters and bargain for improved medical coverage.
On to a different subject—here is my first buy low, sell high list for fantasy baseball.
Buy low:
Jordan Zimmermann (P-WSH)-Last year, Zimmermann finished the season with 19 wins, a 3.25 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. In his first two starts this year, he has zero wins, an 8.10 ERA and a 2.10 WHIP. However, Zimmermann is at the peak of his career. He is 27 years old, and the Nationals have both the defense and the bats to help out his stats. Don’t be surprised if he finishes this season with similar numbers to last year.
Howie Kendrick (2B-LAA)-There is little depth at the second base position outside of the top five 2Bs in the league. Kendrick was one of the elite second-basemen last year before he hyperextended his knee after the all-star break. If you do not have a top 2B, Kendrick might be your man. He has a rare combination of power and speed, while also maintaining an above average batting average. He is only owned in 90% of ESPN standard leagues, and you can get him while he is at his lowest value.
Sell high:
Angel Pagan (OF-SF)-Pagan currently has a .442 batting average. He has only exceeded the .300 mark once in his eight year career, and that was in 2009. In his prime, he was considered a fantasy starter solely because of his speed. In 2012, he had 29 steals in 154 games. The following year, he had 9 steals in 71 games. He will not be able to maintain his stellar batting average, and he is not a good source of HRs or RBIs.
Alexei Ramirez (SS-CWS)-It’s not very often you see someone outdo their career high in stolen bases at the age of 31. That is exactly what Ramirez did last year, as he swiped 30 bases. The Cuban born SS has not played less than 135 games in his six-year career. However, he has also seen his number of HRs dip every year of his career. It is very rare for a baseball player to have such a significant spike in his career, such as we have seen in the first three weeks of the season, especially at the age of 32. Expect a significant dip in his production.
Seth Coven can be contacted at [email protected].
