Abigail Hess of CNBC Make It speaks with Kight Commission CEO Amy P. Perko regarding the impacts of the Alston ruling and NIL policy, and what it all means for college athletes.
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Amy Privette Perko, a former college athlete and the current CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, an independent think tank focused on athlete education, health, safety and success, emphasizes that the Supreme Court ruling is fairly narrow in focus. She says some of the educational benefits that students may now receive include medical coverage and disability insurance but does not clarify for instance, if an athlete can receive a laptop worth $2,000 versus $10,000.
“The immediate impact will now be that conferences will have more authority and responsibility to define what the limits of educational benefits will be within their conference,” she says.
“More broadly, the Supreme Court ruling, and the push separately to change NIL rules, will meaningfully transform college sports by increasing the economic rights and benefits of college athletes,” says Perko. “With the NIL changes coming in 2021, 2021 was already headed to be the most pivotal year in college sports in this century. And with the Supreme Court ruling, it only adds to that in terms of shifting power and economic rights to the athletes.”