They are not kids, they are adults. In the United States the age of majority in the eyes of the law is 18, at which point a person can vote, join the military, and sign a contract in most states. As such, we need to stop referring to college students as kids. This is especially true for this generation of athletes that believe college is nothing more than a brief respite before they move on to the “League”, during which they and their handlers are looking to shake down schools for every dime they can get. I am sure if you asked them they would all tell you they are men, therefore it is time to start treating them as such. They need to sign single or multi-year employment contracts which cover: Compensation, terms for termination, non-disclosure agreements, and non-compete clauses for the full period of the contract. They also need to be issued IRS 1099 forms, and pay 12.4% in Social Security taxes, 2.9% in Medicare taxes, and federal and state income taxes based on their individual tax bracket. If I were representing a university I would even negotiate the cost of tuition, housing, tutoring, athletic trainers, and health care. The purpose of a college education is to prepare students for the world they are about to enter, so to do anything short of the above does not fully prepare these athletes for the professional careers they aspire to. To quote Caddy Shack’s Judge Smails “ I did not want to do it, but I felt I owed it to them”
