As the 2025 football season nears kickoff, the next chapter in the future of college sports is here and Athletes.org (AO) is once again leading the charge and building the bridge college athletics needs to reach a sustainable solution. Last night, for nearly 5 hours, AO met with 24 General Managers from power conference schools across the country to evolve a formal collective bargaining agreement that AO has built with input from member athletes. This CBA has been informed by multiple athletic directors, conference commissioners, legislators and now general managers.
This historic meeting marks an encouraging step toward an equitable future for college athletics: a future where athletes are co-authors of the rules and structures that dictate their lives, and their futures.
These leaders gathered specifically and exclusively to meet with Athletes.org during this private, closed-door meeting for one main goal: to pour their perspectives into shaping a collective bargaining agreement. GMs act as the front line soldiers for schools and programs, often managing relationships with parents, athletes and representation; dealing with issues such as negotiations, roster fluidity and lack of clear standard rules. Their input is invaluable, as they are more accustomed to negotiations where both sides compromise to find a win-win—which is exactly what is needed from a CBA at this time: to provide a better outcome than the status quo.
“At this point, collective bargaining is not a matter of if, but of when. The leaders in the room had the opportunity to hear what our athletes want in a CBA and we were able to also receive their unfiltered feedback on their pain points and critical concerns,” said Athletes.org co-founder Brandon Copeland. “It is clear that the problems in the industry can be solved through a players association negotiating and creating a new standard of rules representing the best interests of athletes. After last night, it is even more abundantly clear that everyone involved wants similar outcomes and are in complete alignment on most issues and extremely close on the rest.”
These leaders joined AO to weigh in on a framework for a stable, sustainable future for college sports where athletes are partners collectively represented through their chosen players association.
“It’s time to bring the right people into the room to iron out all the details and fix this system,” said chairman and co-founder of Athletes.org, Jim Cavale. “These GMs are not the only ones meeting to figure out this proactive path–athletes, athletic directors and even college presidents are all exploring collective bargaining as the solution to usher in the new era of college athletics.”
In both the pre- and post-event survey, GMs wholeheartedly agreed that collective bargaining is the the solution: 100% of the respondents stated that college football will inevitably include collective bargaining.
Highlights from this historic private meeting included:
- 100% of these GMs believe college sports is currently operating on top of a broken foundation that needs restructuring, including a reimagining of a revenue share payment structure between schools and athletes that consolidates the multiple pools of money a school can utilize to compensate an athlete (ie. Alston payments).
- 100% felt that transparency around payment amounts would be appropriate and helpful in a future with collective bargaining to stabilize the market.
- A majority of these stakeholders are in favor of a minimum spend/rev share floor to promote parity and competitive balance within college football.
- 100% were in favor of removing a transfer portal window during the football season and many agreed with re-tooling a transfer window based on better timing for coaches and athletes with academic calendars in mind prior to spring football beginning.
- 100% want to see performance based incentives that would reward play time, particularly for those who outperform their existing contract.
- 100% are in favor of a 5 year, concurrent window of eligibility, that begins as soon as an athlete becomes a full time student at the collegiate level.
- On the topic of agents and athlete representation:
- 100% agreed that an agent certification process and registry should be necessary.
- 100% would like to see an appropriate fee structure for agent compensation, creating a range commensurate with pro-league rates.
This discussion about agents comes at the perfect time, as Athletes.org is currently working on an agent certification program that will help regulate the system and create a safer, more equitable space for athletes and agents alike.
In addition to these meetings with athletes and general managers, Athletes.org will continue to meet with its member athletes, as well as university presidents and athletic directors from multiple Power 4 conference schools in the coming weeks to continue discussing the only equitable and sustainable future for college sports, one where the industry works with its athletes to create the rules and then agree to those in a collective bargaining agreement.
Athletes.org (AO), “The Players Association for College Athletes,” is a voluntary membership organization whose membership includes more than 4,800 current and former college athletes. AO exists to educate, organize, and represent college athletes as their chosen players association in an attempt to ensure their seat at the table in the ever-changing landscape of college sports.
