March Madness is upon us. Although the focus will be on the heroics of players, the event is no longer just an athletic spectacle, it is big business: both for the NCAA, which sponsors the tournament, and now for the athletes, who can earn big bucks trading in on their name, image, and likeness.
As they ink their NIL deals, many athletes will go from being college students to being among the top 1% of taxpayers, which means they must pay income taxes on their earnings like the rest of us. Meanwhile, the NCAA will pocket upwards of $1.2 billion in TV revenues, ticket sales, and sponsorship deals — and pay zero taxes on that income.
If student athletes are taxed on their earnings, it’s time the NCAA should be taxed on theirs.
This is a preview of our full op-ed originally published in Indianapolis Star.
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