All language subtitles for VICE S05E06

This week on "Vice,"

the ongoing battle over the billions
of dollars earned in college sports.

They're
going to school for free.

We're meeting
all of their needs.

You might make a lot of money
if you get into the pros,

and yet, less than one percent
of the people make it.

Each round,
each pick that goes by

means less money for him
if he eventually gets picked.

Do you think you would
have left college early

if you had been, in some way,
compensated throughout college?

No, honestly.

Go, go, go!

We are not animals!

Sync & corrections by honeybunny
www.addic7ed.com

The cost for broadcast rights

to air the games of
professional sports has soared

over the last 10 years,

generating billions
upon billions of dollars

for their respective leagues.

Pro-athletes have had
a share in these rising profits.

However, college
athletes haven't.

Now next week, college
basketball's biggest draw,

the NCAA Final Four,

comes to a close.

A single 30-second ad
during this event

costs more than
a million dollars.

In fact, the NCAA will make around
a billion dollars this year,

but the NCAA forbids

any kind of compensation
for college players

beyond the cost
of their college education.

Now many see this
as exploitation and unfair,

given that most college athletes
won't make it to the pros.

Gianna Toboni spent a year following
both sides of this growing debate.

Go!

College sports
have become so popular

that the five
biggest conferences

made more than
$6 billion last year alone.

With so much money being made off
of games played by college kids,

we wanted to understand the demands
of being a student athlete.

So, we caught up with Michigan
State's basketball team

as they flew on
a privately chartered jet.

Do most people see it
as a full-time job?

And what they want it to add
up to is the next step, the pros.

While that dream is common,

Hall of Fame coach,
Tom Izzo explained to us

how rare achieving it
actually is.

Yeah.

While the vast
majority of these players

never make it to the pros,

the NCAA identifies
them as amateurs,

strictly forbidding them from profiting
off of not just their ability,

but their name,
image and likeness.

This led to a now infamous case,

brought by former
player, Ed O'Bannon,

who sued the NCAA for
profiting off of his likeness

over a decade
after he left school.

Close to 15 years later...

uh, and they're still
making money off of--

off of my image.

The federal
court system decided

that the NCAA's amateurism rules
were an unlawful restraint of trade,

but the ruling did not call for
schools to pay the players directly.

Some players think
they're being ripped off,

and a new lawsuit
is directly challenging

the NCAA's model.

O'Bannon and other cases
have targeted

certain elements
of the NCAA's business model.

Your case would fundamentally
change college sports.

We hope it will fundamentally
change college sports.

Jeffrey Kessler
changed the NBA and NFL

after pursuing
groundbreaking litigation

that freed up players to bargain for
much higher salaries as free agents.

What these players want
is fair treatment.

That's all that they've
ever been seeking.

The players will get
their day in court.

And now Kessler has
trained his sights on the NCAA.

These athletes,

they don't get paid,

but everybody else does.

It's not fair,
and it's not legal.

What we're trying to do is empower
the schools and the conferences

to make their own choices about
what's fair for the players.

That's all. Very simple.

This is a freedom
of choice case.

Former Clemson cornerback,

Martin Jenkins is leading
the charge in this new case.

While playing
for a sports program

that brought in more than $70
million in revenue a year,

he was not allowed to profit.

Jenkins to
the 10, and he scores!

Why did you join this lawsuit?

I don't want to see
college athletes struggle

when the school that they're
working for, technically,

is making hundreds of millions
of dollars off of them.

Did you expect
to make it to the NFL?

Absolutely, absolutely.

What happened when you
graduated college?

I had four
surgeries in college.

Tore my labrum,
had surgery on that.

Tore my groin,
had surgery on that.

I tore a ligament in my foot,
had surgery on that,

and I tore a ligament in my
thumb, had surgery on that.

When I graduated, I initially
went to a training camp,

went to rookie camp
with the-- the New York Jets.

Same kinda thing persisted,
had some injuries.

So after giving it
a couple tries, I said,

"You know, it's--
it's kinda time to hang it up."

You spent years,
uh, playing football

and suffering injuries,
and you couldn't profit

off of your athletic ability during
those years. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

You graduated, and it was injuries that,
in part, took you out of the game.

Do you think that your prime earning
years were when you were in college?

Yeah, I can actually
agree with that. Yes.

The case that-- that you guys are bringing could
really change the future of college sports.

In a very strong, positive way.

If the schools are allowed

to decide how to
compensate these players,

we believe they'll do the right
thing and the fair thing.

So schools wouldn't be required to
pay athletes, they'd be allowed to?

That's right. That's something
that the market would decide.

Just like the market for
anybody else in entertainment,

or anybody else in sports,
or anybody else who has a job.

You let the employers decide
what's the fair competition,

and then the marketplace
reaches a decision on that.

The money is there.

That same
approach was applied

to free agency in pro sports.

Just as that market
was ballooning

as new broadcasting,
and licensing deals

added billions to bottom lines.

But introducing a free
market in college sports,

could spark even
more dramatic effects.

We wanted to understand
both sides of this debate,

but the NCAA and 30 universities

declined our request
to speak on the topic.

One of the few schools willing
to talk to us was Texas Tech.

Let's go!

It's college football
season in Texas.

We're at Texas Tech,
they're playing KU,

and fans are going nuts.

Texas Tech is
expected to generate

$80 million in revenue
this year alone,

but as Athletic Director
Kirby Hocutt showed us,

the debate over player pay
becomes more complicated

when the cost of running a Division
One athletics program is considered.

This is our football
training facility.

This is the hub
of Texas Tech football.

Take a peek into our team
meeting room facility.

It's our team meeting room.

It gives Coach Kingsbury an opportunity
to address the entire team at one time.

I don't think
I've been in a nicer

corporate meeting room
than-- than this one.

It serves its purpose.

Texas Tech University
has invested over $200 million

in the last decade
into its athletic facilities.

Hundreds of millions
of dollars are invested

directly into expenses
like world-class facilities,

and personal salaries.

But while the coaches and
administrators are compensated well,

what they're able to provide
athletes is closely regulated.

There's always sandwiches,
lunch meats, bagels.

So, before a couple years
ago, you couldn't have sandwiches,

and Gatorade's and things
for the student athletes.

You were limited in what type
of snacks you could provide,

and when you
could provide those.

The NCAA's taken
great steps forward.

Does the Athletic
Department turn a profit?

We do. We, uh--
we've been in a...

a positive financial position

for the five years that I've
been at Texas Tech University.

The Athletics Department
in the past 15 years

has invested over $300 million
into our athletic facilities.

We have 415 student athletes
competing in 17 sports.

They are receiving
a free education,

that's covering their tuition,
their fees, room, books,

and then board-- their living expenses.
And then on top of that,

this is our second year to provide cost of
attendance on top of the full scholarship.

At Texas Tech University, the full cost
of attendance is an additional $4,820.

If the day comes,

and there are
additional payments

to-- to select student
athletes that are required,

you have to consider
elimination of opportunities.

I've been in a position before where
I've had to eliminate sport programs,

and I hope that I'm not
in that position ever again

to have to take opportunities
away from young people.

While colleges say
they need this revenue

to provide scholarships,
programs and facilities

economists like Rodney Fort
see nothing

but record growth
and record spending.

All schools can afford
to pay players. All of them.

If my revenues
and expenditures

are going up at the same rate,

because money that's being
generated by players

is being spent on coaches, and
administrators and facilities,

then the money to pay
the players is already there.

The fact that you're not allocating
the money to the players

doesn't mean that you couldn't,

and that's the-- you know,
that's the-- the fallacy.

How has the NCAA changed
over the last 30 years?

The rise and impact
of, um-- of television,

and now video streaming,

it's changed it into an activity

where the conferences that
can generate the most money

are also in control
of how it gets distributed.

The reason that
amateurism exists

is because it allows
the university discretion

over a larger portion
of the amount of revenues

that get generated by the Athletic
Department than they would otherwise have,

and that discretion comes
at the expense of the athletes.

Is there something contradictory
about schools making money

any way they can
off of college sports

and then not
allowing the athletes,

who arguably are the ones generating
the money, make a profit.

Many people wonder if this
is an outright exploitation.

As an economist,
I look at that and say,

"Well, yes, that's exactly
what they're doing."

But the NCAA goes farther
than preventing athletes

from sharing in
the school's revenues.

Their 400-page rule book
prohibits the athletes

from making any money off
of their athletic ability.

So each year, new controversies

make headlines
across the country.

but what many don't know
is that these same rules

apply to athletes before they
even graduate high school.

So, we're at Under Armour's
AAU Tournament,

and all of these high school kids
are showing off their skills

for all the top college coaches
that are sitting right here.

And everyone here
is wearing Under Armour.

We asked Coach
Antoinette Bennett to explain

how Under Armour
benefits from hosting

these tournaments
for high school athletes.

One of Coach Bennett's
players, David Beatty,

was among the top
prospects of this tournament.

He explained how this branding
works for the athletes.

The reason these brands
give these kids free gear

is because it amounts
to free advertising.

Something that became clear
when we visited David's home.

Holy shit.

Cause I've got
sneakers in my mom's car,

I have sneakers
at my friend's house.

You can pick out any basketball shoe,
and I got a story for each one.

What about the
Terminator ones on the end?

I got those
for Dick's Nationals.

Played on ESPN in them
for like five minutes.

Started hurting my feet, took 'em off.

First time I wore
'em, last time I wore 'em.

How much do you
think it's all worth?

Probably like $10,000?

Because you're not
getting paid right now,

why not just sell your shoes?

Help out your family?

Because with the NCAA rules,

it's like a violation, and they'll
try to, like, investigate

and do all this other
crazy stuff just to, like,

stop me from going to college
and playing basketball.

Even during high school,

a violation of NCAA rules

could cost David
a chance at going

to one of the many colleges
which are recruiting him.

"We love you, and we care
about you, and we want you."

And dozens of universities are
offering him that exact opportunity

as long as he follows
the NCAA rules.

How you feel about that?

I mean, it's like
I got a lot of sneakers.

Like, why can't I give
sneakers to other people,

or why can't I help out my family?
Cause, like, we need the money.

That has David and
his mother holding out hope

that one day he'll be able
to profit off of basketball.

I had to just start
answering calls,

because I'm not sure if
it's a bill collector,

or a college recruiter.

So I answered everybody's calls,

and most of the time, it was somebody
calling, saying they wanted my son.

With all this money
these colleges make...

off these kids...

they should get
a little something.

But the man who
designed the system

behind David's sneakers,
Sonny Vaccaro,

never intended for the players
themselves to be left out.

You paved the way for
big brands like Nike

to make money
off of amateur athletes.

How did you do that?

I was sort of an
out-of-the-box guy,

and when I finally got to Nike,

all I did was go
there with an idea.

I said, "You guys want to get
involved in college basketball?"

They said, "Yeah, well,
how do you do that?"

And I said, "Pay the coaches money
for being consultants for Nike,

"and we will give the shoes to
the schools that they represent.

"They will put them on
the feet of the athletes...

and you'll get exposure."

I didn't talk to AD's.

I didn't talk
to school presidents.

I talked to Jerry Tarkanian,

Jimmy Valvano,

Eddie Sutton, John Thompson.

I mean, I talked to the coaches,

who at that time weren't making the
multi-million dollar contracts.

They were working
for 30,000 or 40,000.

By 1982, every college coach worth their
salt was getting paid by a shoe company.

How did Nike profit
off of that model?

First year, we had seven
or eight schools.

Year two, we had close to 80.

They profited off of it,

because they-- and what the
world would then see--

are the athletes, or the
endorsers, sell the product.

My thought was then,
is now, and has proven to be

one of the greatest marketing
moves in the history of anything,

By the time the world woke up,
we had everybody.

The system I created...
was beautiful.

The only thing that morphed
into the reality of it all is

the athletes should have walked lockstep
with the universities and the coaches.

It's not just that
they haven't walked lockstep.

While players are still prohibited
from profiting in any way,

their coache'' salaries

have skyrocketed.

82 coaches across the country
make more than $2 million a year.

The University of Michigan's
football coach

makes $9 million a year,

and at in-state rival
Michigan State,

the head football
and basketball coaches

each make more
than $4 million a year.

Helping to fuel these salaries,

the biggest conferences
have their own TV networks

that reach tens
of millions of viewers

on top of lucrative deals
with major TV networks.

While filming Michigan State's
49-0 victory over Rutgers,

we experienced firsthand the
business of college sports.

The Big Ten Network
told us yesterday

that in order to use the footage
that we film in the stadium today,

we have to license it for $129
a second, minimum 30 seconds,

which means that me talking to you right
now is costing us at least $1,000.

In total, we were
charged more than $3,000

to show game footage
we shot ourselves

of one of the most
lopsided games

of the college football season.

But even this blowout
could be indicative

of the huge role money plays
in college sports today.

Rutgers went 0 and 9 in
a new conference this season.

Many believe they were only
placed there to generate revenue.

Competitive levels have been thrown out
completely, because it's all about

what schools can make you the
most TV dollars as a conference.

When Rutgers and
Maryland joined the conference.

The Big Ten Network
expanded its regional reach,

and its audience jumped
from 52 million to 60 million,

and then The Big Ten made three major
TV deals valued at $2.64 billion.

Michigan State's athletic
director, Mark Hollis,

who made more
than $900,000 last year,

talked to us about how these
deals influence conferences.

Rutgers, Maryland, joined
the Big Ten in 2014,

and before that, there was no presence in
that TV market in New York, New Jersey.

Of course that brought in eight million more
households which means more ad revenues,

right, which makes those TV
deals much more lucrative.

So, are those TV deals
in some ways dictating

which teams are in
which conferences?

I think the commissioners
that help guide those decisions,

um, were doing so in a way

to create the type
of resources that we can

to keep the services for our
student athletes in a way

that, um, are either at the
level we have or even greater.

I think also what
people wonder, though,

is then why can't players
then take advantage of that,

why they can't be benefiting
or why they're limited

in how they benefit
from these deals.

I think players
are benefiting from it.

Student athletes
today are, you know,

provided with the opportunity
to receive a lot of benefits

from apparel to travel
to medical, food.

You give them every-- every
opportunity that you can--

academically, athletically and
socially-- to be successful.

But are they really getting the
opportunity to get an education?

Can you guarantee a degree? No.

Can you guarantee that they're
getting the right education? No.

You can give them
the ingredients,

and the opportunity for success.

But many college athletes grow
frustrated with the NCAA's system,

and see pursuing some kind of money
during their prime earning years

as more beneficial
than finishing their education.

Peyton Barber was a
running back for Auburn,

one of the top football
schools in the country.

You see Barber, he elevates.

I think that ball
makes it this time.

You ever wonder,
you're like out on the field,

and you see all the fans and the
jerseys and all the stuff being sold

and do you ever wonder where
that money goes? All the time.

We bring in the majority
of the money

for our school,

$80 million
to $100 million a year.

Do you see it as a job?

Oh, definitely, I mean, getting
up at 5:45 in the morning,

going to work out.

You have practice,
you have meetings all day.

I mean, your day's not
really over until 8:00 or 9:00.

After making the SEC honor
roll in his sophomore season,

money issues led Peyton
to leave college football

and take his chances
in the NFL draft.

I don't know if anybody really knows
my mom, she's homeless right now.

So, it's kinda--
I'm doing it for her.

At what point did you decide that you
were gonna declare for the draft?

We've been having, like,
some family, you know,

problems for a while.

When you come home, and
it's like-- including me,

it's like five people sleeping
in one room sometimes.

That's a hard thing to see.

I just wanted to help my family
out and provide for 'em.

I kinda like wanted to
cry when I heard him say that.

I want Peyton to get
his education.

Do you think you would
have left college early

if you had been, in some way,
compensated throughout college?

No, honestly.

What's today?

Today will be the day that I'm
predicted to go in the draft,

so...
we'll just have to see.

The NFL draft
has finally arrived.

With the first pick,

the Los Angeles Rams
select Jared Goff.

Experts predicted
Peyton would be picked

in the last
four rounds of the draft.

So, on the third
and final day of the draft,

Peyton and his friends
gathered at a driving range

to celebrate his new
career in the NFL.

I love you, brother.
I love you too, man.

How you been? I'm good, man.
I've been good.

Just waiting?
Yeah.

Hopefully I get
a call sometime soon.

You know Travis Feeney?

I know who he is.

He got drafted.

Got a Gainesville
number calling me.

Who's that?
I don't know.

Peyton? Peyton?
Hello? Hey.

Anything yet? No, not yet.

How much longer are we
gonna have to wait?

I don't know.
Trying to-- trying to see.

Oh.

Football is football.

I'm fine.

Each round,
each pick that goes by

means less money for him
if he eventually gets picked.

It's just kind of like the not knowing, the
uncertainty, that's the toughest part today.

Alex Collins got picked up
by the Seahawks.

Hello?

Okay, hey, how are you doing?

Doing pretty good.

All right, well--
all right, bye.

What did they say?

He just keeps on talking about, like, free--
free agency if I don't get picked up.

Stuff like that.

Undrafted players still have
an opportunity to sign pro contracts,

but they have a slimmer
chance of making teams

and receive far less money.

This is kinda-- this
is kind of embarrassing.

This is why, one, I didn't want
to invite this many people.

For Peyton, what's going on right now?
If this is an okay time?

We've had about 12
teams that have been calling,

and they want him
automatically for a free agency.

So what they're doing right
now is making some offers,

of what they would
offer, basically,

as far as for him signing
on as a free agent.

And we have to make a decision
within the next couple of minutes.

Do you wanna--
it's-- it's Tampa.

What do you-- what do you say?
Sure.

Huh?
Yeah.

Done deal?

Tampa.

Peyton received
a small signing bonus,

but wasn't offered a salary
to attend the NFL's

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
training camp.

He was initially cut
from the team,

but then made it
to the active roster

after a series
of running backs were injured.

Boy, the Bucs clicked.

And this
is your ballgame right here.

Peyton Barber.
His first NFL touchdown.

A 44-yarder.

Peyton has been able to stay
on the active roster all season,

but there's little
security in the NFL.

The money-- the money's
definitely been helping--

been helping us out a lot...

but new guys coming in,
every day, you know,

competing for the same
spot that you have.

So, this could be here today,
it could be gone the next.

Average lifespan
of a running back is...

two and a half years,
or something like that.

As revenues continue to grow,

the pressure on the NCAA to resolve
this issue is only mounting.

The Jenkins case is expected
to be in court within a year,

and the result could
be the end of amateurism.

We have some challenges that
we have to fix in college sports.

I'd like to see student
athletes get something.

It's getting the apartment, it's getting
the car, it's being able to live.

Can we do better? Absolutely.

Intercollegiate athletics
is the second-highest provider

of college scholarship
behind the GI Bill.

So, when you look at
the educational opportunities

that are afforded
to young people today

through participation in college
sports, it's significant.

So, let's understand
the hypocrisy.

There are no games
without the players.

They're selling them!

They're not giving you a $50,000
education or cost of living.

They're giving you
a seat in the classroom.

It's a goddamn chair.

Thousands of student athletes
will enter the NCAA next year.

David is one of them.

Basketball's not guaranteed.

And I always tell him...

take advantage
of these colleges,

cause they're gonna take--
take advantage of you.