110 Iowa L. Rev. 867 (2025)
Abstract
For decades, student-athletes faced limited financial aid in scholarships, the denial of name, image, and likeness opportunities, and the refusal to treat student-athletes as employees. With the NCAA recently allowing name, image, and likeness compensation following significant pressure from state legislatures and the recent Johnson v. NCAA case that could upend amateurism in college athletics pending, now is the time for universities and the NCAA to recognize and compensate student-athletes as employees. State legislatures should mandate that public universities classify student-athletes as employees, as they meet the definition of an employee under three statutory tests. The Iowa Legislature should initiate this push because the state currently has national attention for its aggressive prosecution of numerous sports betting scandals. Iowa should utilize such attention, however, by exerting caution when mandating student-athlete pay to avoid perpetuating inequities among collegiate sports. Paying a minimum wage of fifteen dollars an hour for in-season work to all student-athletes would require universities to recognize the control and financial benefit they obtain from student-athletes while also providing a sustainable compensation model for athletic departments. Not only is paying student-athletes a minimum wage financially possible for public universities in Iowa, but it would also allow universities subject to Title IX restrictions to treat student-athletes equitably, as name, image, and likeness compensation would allow additional financial benefits for popular student-athletes.