• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 31, 2013

Everyone wants a piece of the TV pie, even supposedly "amateur" NCAA athletes. Would this make them professional athletes? Guess so. 

Yes, everyone on TV should get something -- even reality show stars are “performers.”

Others want to hold on to the premise of the amateur athlete. Western countries tried to do that in the Olympics for many years amidst complaints that Eastern European nations were sending professionals to those "amateur" games.

Turns out it no longer makes a difference -- or maybe those nations who sent pro athletes were right in the first place. Just send the best athletes. I'm pro-choice on this one.

Many non-athlete college students have part-time jobs and other work. You can say college athletes will get bigger rewards with professional contracts after their college-starring days are over. But not everyone.

Mind you, a  recent federal judge’s decision merely allows NCAA athletes to legally proceed in cases pursuing TV money. There is a long way to go.

Professional sports leagues are paid by TV networks and other media outlets, with that money then distributed to teams. In turn, teams use that money to pay their athletes. But athletes do not get direct "TV payments."

TV deals for college sports benefit conferences and the colleges. Colleges may benefit from recruiting better players. In turn, they can give amateur athletes the promotion stage to display their wares. But that's pretty much as far as it goes.

Now, some athletes would like to change the formula by being closer to "professional-athletes-in-waiting" rather than holding the moniker of amateur.

Billions of dollars are indeed generated by those responsible for the content on the field and on the TV screen. We can only wonder, as new found TV business partners, if maybe those athletes want producer titles as well.