ANALYSIS: Antitrust-Proofed MLB Could Provide Game Plan for NCAA

While the National Collegiate Athletic Association has long been seen as an organization that organizes amateur athletic events for college-aged athletes, the NCAA has now taken many aspects of professional sports leagues. College sports is a “profitable enterprise”—as the Supreme Court noted in its 2021 decision to grant college athletes name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights.

As such, the NCAA will require an antitrust exemption or a similar type of legal agreement in order to keep operating with the level of autonomy it traditionally has had over college sports. In this case, the NCAA’s best model for addressing antitrust issues ...