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Should college football players unionize?

Kain Colter
Leo W. Gerard, president of the Steelworkers, (R) and Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter answer questions at a press conference on Jan. 28, 2014 at The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. Citing what they deem as the NCAA's abdication of responsibility to protect athletes from injury, the College Athletes Association (CAPA) announced the creation of the new labor organization to represent college football and basketball players.
David Banks/Getty Images

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Players for the Northwestern University football teams are making their case to the National Labor Relations Board that they are employees of their school and have the right to unionize like any other employee group.

Kain Colter, the 21-year-old quarterback, is leading the team's union petition.

From The New York Times:

In question is the relationship between academics and football for players — specifically, which comes first and whether these athletes should be classified as students or employees. Colter insisted he was on campus to play football.

"It's truly a job," Colter said. "There's no way around it."

Northwestern graduates 97 percent of football players, the highest among schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Lawyers for the university, which argues that its football players do not meet the requirements for a union because they are full-time students, expressed difficulty in understanding why Northwestern was chosen as a test case.

On The Daily Circuit, we discuss the arguments and the implications for the game of football and college athletics if the team can unionize.