Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, like plenty of other athletes, coaches, fans, etc., isn’t a fan of the NCAA. He has the platform, though, in 325,000 Twitter followers to make his voice heard.
On Monday, Jones fired off a string of four tweets ripping the NCAA:
I'm so happy to be done with the @NCAA and their rules & regulation. They do any & everything to exploited collegiate athletes.
— Cardale Jones (@CJ1two) April 11, 2016
It's deeper than athletes thinking we should get paid. The @NCAA control our lives with insane and unfair rules.
— Cardale Jones (@CJ1two) April 11, 2016
Why shouldn't a collegiate athlete be able to use their OWN likeness/brand to benefit themselves but yet the @NCAA can sell there jerseys🤔
— Cardale Jones (@CJ1two) April 11, 2016
That's my 2cent on the @NCAA .It's not like that's going to change how the athletes are exploited, even tho 98% of people feel the same way
— Cardale Jones (@CJ1two) April 11, 2016
Jones’ gripe with the NCAA is a common one with players -- why can the NCAA and universities make money off players, but players themselves can’t sell their own likenesses? It’s not like Ohio State is just randomly selling No. 1 and No. 15 jerseys for $150 a year after Braxton Miller and Ezekiel Elliott starred in those numbers for the Buckeyes. Jones, too, could’ve capitalized monetarily off leading Ohio State to the inaugural College Football Playoff title.
As one former player put it to me: If a music or art student can, in theory, sell the work they produce while they’re in college, why can’t we sell our work? Maybe that’d be in autographs, jersey sales, video game likenesses, etc.
This isn’t a new argument, of course, against the NCAA. But as long as players aren’t able to monetize their success (or get directly paid for it), it’s going to continue to be re-hashed over and over again.
