There must be a collective bargaining agreement, whether it be national or conference wide, there has to be a protection against exactly what you stated.
Otherwise athletes who run track, play softball, or play soccer and devote an equal amount of their time to being an athlete as well as a student won’t be compensated fairly for their time. And yes, college soccer players should get more than the federal minimum wage - there is plenty money to go around for this.
Makes me think that sports programs have operated at such a profit because they weren’t paying athletes, and if it isn’t a tax-free profit then how will the funding and budgeting of athletic departments change due to this. All questions that are looking for answers in the near future.
