In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that the NCAA limits on education-related benefits are a violation of antitrust laws and therefore it can’t enforce rules limiting education-related benefits that colleges offer to student-athletes, a ruling that could help push changes in how the student-athletes are compensated, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The ruling pertains to benefits such as computers and paid internships, but it doesn’t decide whether students can be paid salaries. It will help to determine whether schools decide to offer athletes tens of thousands of dollars in education benefits for tutoring, study abroad programs, and graduate scholarships.
Writing for the court, Justice Neil Gorsuch states that the NCAA sought “immunity from the normal operation of the antitrust laws,” and he said that allowing colleges and universities to offer “enhanced education-related benefits … may encourage scholastic achievement and allow student-athletes a measure of compensation more consistent with the value they bring to their schools.”
